Dimensional Heroes: Code Lyoko Season 2 Redux
by jexi the hunter
Summary: Our heroes joined by the Spirit Force have once again found themselves in the redux of a past mission. But what awaits them in this new redo? Only time may tell.
1. A Box of Tricks

A few days after Big Mom and her crew were driven off from the Mushroom Kingdom, a ship was seen descending down to a landing pad near the others from the Hero Alliance.

"Long time no see, everyone." Ace said as he and his group exited the ship and approached the rest of the Hero Alliance. "How have you guys been?"

"You mean, aside from almost dying by pissing off a Sweet Toothed Emperor and ruining a wedding?" Hope said. "Were good, but I think we should be the ones asking how YOU have been. You look like you've been through hell."

"It's… A long story. Let me explain." Ace said as he told the others what he and the rest of Spirit Force have been doing since they split up. "And that's the gist of it."

"So, let me see if I'm getting this right. Not only are you a Color Fighter now, but the Eidolons scattered and became reincarnated humans?" Sectonia asked.

"Pretty much, Though my name and appearance has changed, I am still Ifrit." Vargas said.

"I guess it's a lot to take in huh? Trust me, I was surprised too when I learned I could Color Fight." Ace said.

"Yeah but we've been through worse. We fought a couple of titans." Ty said.

"And even better, you got Lunamo… I mean, Dianamon, back to full power. How'd she fit in the ship though?" Hope asked.

"She is human sized you know, Hope." Skyler said.

"Right. Dumb question." Hope said.

"Aw come on Sanji. You gotta put it on!" They heard Luffy cry as they turned to see Sanji with some strange can.

"Wait...is that...it's one of those Raid Suits!" Tails said.

"Yeah. Niji must have slipped it onto me when I wasn't looking. Only time I could have gotten it. But I don't want this garbage!" Sanji said.

"Come on! It's awesome science. What if you can shoot laser beams or something?" Luffy asked.

"Yeah, lasers!" Chopper said.

"Are laser beams all you think about when it comes to Science and Robots?" Arnice asked.

"What th… Arnice?! What're you doing here?" Rainbow asked.

"I'm here with Ace's group and others from my world. I basically became a full demon four years on my world. Hope it doesn't bother David." Arnice said. "Speaking of which, where is he?"

"He and the others are in the Metro Kingdom preparing for a special performance." Shuichi said.

"Like a concert?" Azura asked.

"There's a party happening around the world. And we're the main guests considering what we did and all." Ty said.

"Well let's go and surprise him and see if he needs any help." Stoj said.

"I don't think he does. He's brought quite the band with him." Lloyd said.

"By the way Ace, who are your other new members?" Connor asked.

"We can recognize a couple of them. Emil, Marta! Long time no see!" Sheena said.

"Hey, everyone. It's really good to see all of you." Emil said to the Aselia Group.

"I can't believe you all had us worried, disappearing like that. Well at least you all are okay." Marta said. "And it's really good to see you and Lloyd again, Colette."

"Same here. We've been worried about how you were managing things after we were whisked away." Colette said.

"Everything's been peaceful. Richter is still guarding the door to the demonic realm. After we heard you all had disappeared, we searched high and low for you before we were whisked away to another world. That's where we met Ace and a few of his teammates." Emil said.

"We already know Arnice, but… who are you?" Hope asked looking at Ryu.

"My name is Ryu. This is Lin and Nina." Ryu said as Nina shyly hid behind him as Lin looked at them before waving as her tail moved.

"Not much of a conversationalist…" Connor said.

"Nono, I can speak. It's Nina who's mute." Lin said as Nina nodded her head and waved to them before shying away.

"And you must be Arnice's… friends, I guess?" Sunset asked.

"Yeah. My name is Aluche, this is Lilia, Rue, Dr. Camilla, Eleanor, Veruschka, and Muveil." Aluche said as she introduced herself and her friends.

"It's nice to meet you all." Liliana said as she bowed to them.

"Hey there." Ruenheid said as she waved to them.

Camilla pushed up her monocle as she hummed. "A pleasure."

"Would any of you like my famous chocolate drink?" Eleanor asked.

Veruschka looked at them as she nodded her head to them.

"Forgive her, she's getting used to being social. But still it's an honor to meet all of you." Muveil said before seeing the dragon slayers stare at Ryu. "Is something wrong?"

"He's a dragon, isn't he?" Sting asked.

"Technically yes." Lin said as Ryu went into his dragon form surprising them. "He was chosen to wield one of the dragons' powers on our world."

"So he's like some old time Dragon Slayer. Big whoop." Gajeel said.

"Oh come on, guys. I'm a dragon and you guys didn't have a problem being around me." Kokoro said.

"Of course we don't. We were raised by dragons so other dragons aren't a problem for us." Natsu said.

"Don't go and try to pick a fight with Ryu please." Arnice said.

"Speaking of which, where are Jago and the others?" Fulgore asked.

"They wanted to go back to their world so they can rebuild the damage done by Gargos and his army." Leviathan said.

"Also, take a look at this. Apparently ARIA is holding a Multiverse EX Grand Prix." Ace said as he handed the flyer to Jexi.

"A racing tournament...interesting. Okay. We'll do it." Jexi said.

"Well it's not gonna be for a while which gives us more time to deal with the titans. By the way how has the search for the 12 been going?" Spade asked.

"We've already got the location to another thanks to Cor. He's gone to find it back in Meliodas's world." Illuma said.

"Still no Coronamon, though. Sorry. We were so busy dealing with Big Mom that we didn't have time to search." Jude said.

"It's alright, we understand." Tsuki said.

"But it makes you wonder… where in the world could Corona be?" Hope asked before Jexi hit him.

"Hope, don't add to the tension. They're tense enough." Jexi said.

"Jexi, it's alright. We'll find him eventually. And I see the rest of your classmates have appeared since we last met, Shuichi." Ace said.

"Yeah. James kidnapped Kaede, and they left the Coalition so they could help rescue her." Shuichi said.

"Well we're glad to see she's safe. I hope to get the chance to meet her." Azura said.

"Well we can go right now. We were just about to prep the Sunny and sail for the Metro Kingdom." Jexi said.

"Sunny? What of the Star Speeder?" X asked.

"Well…" Jexi said.

"He got it destroyed by the Big Mom Pirates." Kyoka said.

"It was a ploy to fake the Dimensional Heroes' deaths. The Big Mom Pirates bought it though." Tsumugi said.

"It wasn't the first time we faked our deaths, though." Dan said.

"Yeah, this is actually the second time." Ranma said.

"Either way...we set sail now." Jexi said.

As the Sunny and other ships cruised across the sky and sea, the teams caught up with each other more on their current events and adventures, and talked about what they all have experienced. It wasn't long before they had reached the Metro Kingdom and the capital, New Donk City.

"Well that was a boring talk." Jack said.

"You don't have to stay with us, you know." Hope said.

"But I do. I need to hide out until that cop is gone." Jack said.

"Speaking of...how is the escape master?" Hope asked.

"Don't worry. Turns out I didn't even need him. So I'm thinking of turning him in once the cop is gone." Jack said.

"You know he probably won't like going back on your deal." Hope said.

"Please. I know he won't. Knowing him, he'll try to escape with the loot first chance he gets. That's where this comes in." Jack said showing a radar with a blinking red light. "The light is him. Without his knowledge, a small bio chip has been implanted under his skin. He can't get out of the designated area without feeling an electrical shock."

"Wow, that was really thought out." Sectonia said.

"This is Alain Bruns we're talking about. The Escape Master. I never trusted him for a moment. He's backstabbed all of his partners just to get away with the goods. I knew what to do." Jack said.

"You always seem to have a backup plan huh?" Hope asked. "That's so like you."

"So where is he?" Gemini asked.

"Where do you think?" Jack said pointing to the Sunny. "He's locked below deck so there's no running."

"Trapped like a mouse in a cage, huh?" Tsumugi asked.

"Course even I don't expect that to stop him. He's likely already figuring out a way out of the deck, which is why I set up that electrical defense." Jack said.

"So where is David and his little band?" Volt wondered.

"If memory serves...they'll be at New Donk City Hall." Robin said.

"Who knows, maybe they'll even be on the rooftop." Natsu said.

"The rooftop? I know it's been a while, but he's not a high school student eating lunch." Petra said.

"I think they're getting ready to play, he is performing." Rainbow said.

"Jealous that you couldn't be there?" Jesse asked.

"Not in the least." Rainbow said.

"So who does David have in his band?" Hope asked.

"I know he took Bakugo with him for the drums." Kyoka said.

"Then there's Kaede on the keyboard, Scott on bass, Ibuki on guitar… He's got quite the lineup." Brook said.

"And with Pauline singing with them...it's a full on band." Jexi said.

"He's really going big on this one." Gemini said.

"But I wonder what song he's playing?" Erica asked.

"He told me a little about that. He said that it's something inspiring." Sectonia said.

"Oh, this will be good." Hope said smiling.

They soon entered the City Hall just as David and his band got on stage.

"(Hello, everyone.)" David said as the crowd cheered. "(Thank you, thank you. You know, it's good to be here with so many people gathered together. It makes me think back to the days of my youth. So many experiences made with different people. That said, I would like to dedicate this to Jexi, Hope, and everyone else in the Hero Alliance. Because without them, I wouldn't be where I am today. Thank you everyone, and I hope you enjoy the show.)"

(Cue Opening Theme: Dragonball Z: Budokai 2 Theme / Jonathan Young & Lyle McDouchebag ENGLISH COVER)

 **Tell me where's a hero pure of heart  
and who his greatest rivals are  
I will tell it, fair and square**

 **They crash and bring on the tension,  
they sparkin' hot like adrenaline.  
and I will do it, fair and square**

 **(Go for it!)  
(Go for it!)**

 **This stadium called the universe  
between the heavens and the earth  
to the future, here we go**

 **Just tell me I can make it through  
there's nothing that I can not do  
to the future, here we go**

 **(I'm gonna fight!)  
The treasure that I want,**

 **(I'm gonna fight!)  
I will claim it on my own!**

 **(I'm gonna make it!)  
I'm gonna take the risk  
I'm taking off, I'm taking flight  
I believe in the night!**

 **Wake up the hero that I need to be  
I burn, like fire has taken over me  
I'll chase my dreams and be the man I'm searching for  
not gonna stop anymore!**

 **Don't hide behind these rules you made  
this chance you've got just can not wait  
So find your courage, take your shot**

 **Don't learn to fly for nothing**

 **this leap of faith needs jumping  
so find your courage, take your shot!**

 **(You can fight!)  
The future that I want,**

 **(You can fight!)  
I will claim it on my own!**

 **(You can make it!)  
I won't stop for nothing  
even once I find my muse  
I got nothing to lose!**

 **I'll find my courage, I'm ai-iming high  
I don't have wings but I swear that I can fly  
my dreams are waiting, all I've got to do is claim them  
not gonna stop anymore!**

 **Tell me where's a hero pure of heart  
Tell me who his greatest rivals are  
Tell me how to fly to touch the stars**

 ***guitar solo***

 **I'll find my courage, I'm ai-iming high  
I don't have wings but I swear that I can fly  
my dreams are waiting, all I've got to do is claim them  
not gonna stop anymore!**

 **(Let's go!)**

 **Wake up the hero that I need to be  
I burn, like fire has taken over me  
I'll chase my dreams and be the man I'm searching for  
not gonna stop anymore!**

(end song)

"WOOHOOO! You rock, David!" Hope called.

"Yeah! Ishihara for life!" Zexi shouted.

"You know… that song really takes me back." Gemini said. "I remember when Hopey told us about the time he met Jexi. When the Seven Demon Lords terrorized the worlds. When did it all start by the way?"

"First, it's Seven Great Demon Lords. Second...it was actually when we were still dealing with FreezeMan and Gospel." Jexi said.

"You guys must've had a lot of adventures when your group formed huh?" Aluche said.

"Yes. Of course Gospel wasn't the only threat. We were dealing with the kingdoms too." Dan said.

"That's just like my brother to start something like that." Beelko said.

"If I remember right...it was during a trip into Team Lyoko's past." Jexi said.

"What exactly happened?" Arnice asked.

"Where to begin? Fighting the kingdoms, fighting Gospel, Flux...a basic three way front. Not to mention XANA." Pit said.

"XANA? You mean that program people created but went rogue?" Mari asked.

"Yes. It was originally created by Aelita's father. But…" Sectonia started.

"It went rogue from a virus and developed a mind of its own, desiring to take over the world." Maka said.

"It's almost as bad as the Sigma Virus in a way." Zero said.

"You know… you guys bring up a lot of stuff about that fateful time at Kadic before I came." Hope said. "I just wish I could be there to see it for real."

"Hope, don't say that! Saying things like that NEVER turn out good!" Korra said.

"And there's also the risk of altering the timeline too." Camilla said.

"Relax. The reduxes are their own separate timeline, right?" Jesse asked.

"Yes. As far as they've been studied, each time a redux is done, it creates an alternate timeline separate from the current one." Tails said.

"Like a parallel world, right?" Mari asked.

"Exactly." Vera said.

"At least there's no damage to the main timeline. Question is...who creates the reduxes?" Lin asked.

"A certain band of Yo-kai. Though, we're not quite sure why they put us through them." Sectonia said.

"Has anyone seen Ace?" Tsuki asked.

"Not sure...I think he left a little while ago." Leonis said.

"Wonder where he went? I'm sure he wanted to see David play…" Hope said.

"Maybe he's backstage?" Leviathan asked.

"I'm sure he's fine. Ace is capable of handling himself." Jexi said.

Over at Ace's location…

"Judgement Bolt Chidori!" Ace yelled as he pierced his hand through a rock in a field as lightning shot out. "Dammit…"

"Is something wrong, young one?" a voice asked.

"Who's there?" Ace asked.

Ace looked around only to see a box sitting there. "I'm no one. Just an ordinary box."

"Do you expect me to open you or something? This is a trap isn't it?" Ace asked.

"It's no trap, I assure you. But...I can tell...you are struggling aren't you? Come on. You can tell me." The box said.

"In a way, yeah. It's just losing the Eidolons and learning about my origins is kinda having an effect on me." Ace said. "Okay this is just crazy, just what are you?" He asked as he picked up the box.

"Me? I am a magic box of course. If you wish to gain some closure, I can help. All you must do is simply open me up." It said.

"You're not gonna suck me in are you?" Ace asked.

"No no. I would never." The box said.

"Alright then." Ace said as he slowly opened the box.

"The deed is done." the box said as the energy surging from it forced Ace to drop the box as hundreds of thousands of ghosts were seen surging from it.

"Oh you've gotta be frickin kiddin me!" Ace said.

"Let me assure you, this is no evil trick. And as a reward. You and your group get to join the Ultra Hero Alliance in a special little trip. A redux if you will." The box said.

"A redux? How do we do that?" Ace asked.

"Let me explain. A redux is a retelling of a past adventure, creating a timeline separate from your own." The box said. "As for how...it's already being done." It said as the ghosts circled around Ace. "As we speak, my ghosts are not only transporting the hero alliance and their vehicles, but you people as well."

"Oh boy." Ace said.

"Hey, don't blame me...you are the one who chose to open a strange looking box." The box said as a young girl was taking form atop it. "Though it was nice of you to open it."

"Who are you?" Ace asked the girl.

"Since you'll be vanished soon...My name...is the Mystery Legend Yo-kai...Pandora." She said as Ace completely vanished.

Unknown Location

"Where am I? This definitely isn't the Mushroom Kingdom. David? Hope? Jexi?" Ace called out as he walked around a large area. "Looks like I'm in a factory."

"Ace!" A voice called out as Jexi, Hope and David stood at the entrance.

"Oh man I am so glad to see you guys. What is going on?" Ace asked.

"Hope jinxed us again. We're in a redux of the last adventure before we met him." Jexi said.

"Ace, what's going on?" David asked. "One minute I was in City Hall signing autographs, and the next those ghosts whisked us here." David gave him a look. "You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"

"How was I supposed to know a box and a weird Yo-Kai Pandora would do this?" Ace asked.

"Ace...I think you better come onto the Sunny with us." Jexi said.

A few minutes later…

"Looks like Ace's story checks out. Pandora is registered as a Mystery Legend Yo-kai." Sunset said.

"So this is what you guys deal with in Reduxes huh? I gotta say, for most of us, this is our first time, and it's weird." Ty said.

"Yeah...and since Team Lyoko isn't with us, we're definitely in the past on their world. And from the kingdom signatures...it's the second time." Jexi said.

"So they don't remember us?" Tsuki asked.

"'Fraid not. At least, not most of us." Shuichi said.

"He's right. They would only know us. And since our memories of the adventure vanish when we do a redux, we can't recall all the events." Tails said.

"Dammit, talk about annoying." Saki said.

"I know how you feel. Last time a redux was instigated, it was because of me." Sectonia said.

"So uh… what do we do now?" Ty asked.

"Simple. We just go through the whole thing again. Oh, that reminds me." David said getting out the duct tape.

"Oh… Oh no! You're not taking me alive!" Pit said as he started running.

"Get back here!" David said chasing after him.

"Wait, didn't Jeremie and the others go to school before they joined you?" Roy asked.

"Yes...why do you think we're grabbing Pit? He's one of the several people we sent to blend as students and normal students don't have wings." Nami said.

"So youre sayin we gotta go to school?" Connor asked.

"Not everyone. Just everyone around mid-teens." Jesse said.

"Well me and Spade are out since we already graduated from our school." Ace said.

"That doesn't stop David and Hope from attending." Vera said.

"And Luffy...though we have a good excuse for him. Others go there as staff while the rest stay on the Sunny." Jexi said.

"Well me and Nina will stay on the Sunny so we don't draw attention." Lin said.

"Yeah, um… David's Mythos Four attend as well." Genis said.

"I've heard. They actually bought the DNA experimentation story." Dark Metaknight said.

"It should work for Lin and Nina too, so long as Nina wears long sleeves to cover her feathers." Ty said.

"That's what we did for me." Petra said.

"Right. But Nina won't be able to talk, remember?" Lin asked.

" So long as she doesn't get into anything where she's gotta speak, she'll be fine." Hope said.

"I'll make a voice modulator just in case." Miu said.

"There's also mine and Arnice's demon traits." Muveil said.

"Well...some members do hide in the forest." Tails said.

"By that, he means just me." Chopper said.

"Why don't you stay on the Sunny?" Ruenheid asked.

"It made sense to have a watch dog...or rather watch deer in the forest to keep out for hidden activity." Jexi said.

"Just remember. As far as the public is concerned, those attending are just normal students." Symonne said.

"Yeah, so don't use your powers willy-nilly or you'll cause a panic." Mayumi said.

"This is my fault isn't it?" Ace asked.

"Don't blame yourself for this. If anything, I jinxed us. We just gotta go through this all together." Hope said.

"Right. Well me, Spade and some of the members staying behind will keep watch around the factory just in case." Ace said.

"I'll go on patrol with Connor around town. I don't think we'd fit in in a Boarding school anyway." Ty said.

"Lady Illuma, what should be our course of action in this Redux?" Celeste asked.

"Most of you ladies are of school age so...wait...I don't see Skyler." Illuma said.

"She went on ahead with the others." Aluche said.

"No...she wouldn't have gone off without permission. This is different." Illuma said.

"I think I know. When we first met her...she was a prisoner of the Flying Kingdom, Avia." Jexi said.

"Come to think of it...I didn't see her when we arrived." Carrot said.

"Guess she's being held captive...again." Gray said.

"And we won't be able to reach her until Avia is in proximity of us." Sectonia said.

"We'll get her back. I promise, Lady Illuma." Spade said.

"Wait a minute. We were part of this too. Why aren't we gone?" Bartolomeo asked.

"I dunno. Guess your storyline wasn't that important." Kyoka said as the two fell in shock.

"Or maybe since you were freed in Organica, she didn't see the point in doing that again." Peridot said.

"So just a quick recap. Most of us will act like normal students and we can't use our powers unless it's an emergency. Did I get that all right?" Mari asked

"Yes. That's correct. However, as for me, I'll be joining as a teacher." Robin said. "Vector, Franky and Usopp usually join as groundskeepers."

"But Vector is a crocodile isn't he? How will he be able to not be spotted?" Papelne asked.

"Yeah. I just tell them I got a rare skin condition and they eat it up." Vector said.

"Maybe you guys could use some help." Ty said. "Merlin, why don't you join Robin as a teacher?"

"Oh yeah, you could be a science teacher right? And Robin would obviously teach history." Roy said.

"Hmm. Raine...I know you have some knowledge of ancient history...how about becoming my teacher's aide?" Robin asked.

"I would be most honored, Robin." Raine said.

"Just like old times, huh Professor?" Lloyd asked.

"Then it's settled. Members from Freedom Seekers, Hope Squad, Dimensional Heroes, Spirit Force, Brave Adventurers, Shadow Strike Force, Wanderers, Phantom Thieves Neo Dimensional Heroes and Spectra Force will take their roles around Kadic. The rest of us will stay here, and come to help you whenever XANA attacks." Ichiro said.

"So we'll contact each other if something happens? Alright, we'll see you later." Ace said.

"I never thought I'd be seeing where it all began before I arrived…. This is gonna be so much fun." Hope said.

(Cue- The Subdigitals: A World Without Danger)

Here we are, going far  
To save all that we love.

If we give what we've got,  
We will make it through.

Here we are like the sun,  
Shining bright on your world today -  
Make evil go away!

Code Lyoko - We will stand alone.  
Code Lyoko - Be there when you call  
Code Lyoko - We will stand real tall  
Code Lyoko - Stronger after all!


	2. New Order

"So, where do we find the gang today?" Gemini asked. "I'm asking because I don't really know this period in time much like the last two."

"Well as far as we know, this was the day Aelita started attending the school, around the same time we travelled back here." Dan said.

"Perhaps they're at the school right now." Kohaku said.

"Yeah...we even launched fireworks to celebrate our return. But it's way too late for that now." Sonic said.

"So the obvious choice to find them would be the courtyard." Hope said.

"I take it that's their usual spot?" Hisui asked.

"Yep. They tend to gather there a lot." Mayumi said.

"Honestly. It may feel weird for some of us who are attending school for the first time. Good thing Mari made these outfits for me, Kohaku, and Hisui." Kor said.

"I don't think she had to go that far. Seriously, she overdoes things way too much." David said.

"Now now, David. There is no such thing as going "too far" for fashion." Rarity piped in.

"Indeed, at least we're not drawing attention to ourselves." Camilla said.

It didn't take long for the group to head to the courtyard where a special field trip was already in progress.

"Oh I remember this! It's that field trip to the forest." Lucy said.

"Yeah...and we can still pass. I even have the picture I drew." Luffy said holding a badly drawn flower picture.

"You held onto that all this time?" Petra asked.

"We told you before...there are no sunflowers in the forest!" Natsu said.

"Sunflower? It's a daisy." Luffy said.

"Can anyone tell from any angle you look at it?" Hope asked.

"Guys, over here!" Jeremie called as the group came over to them. "Where were you last night? Someone set off the fireworks when you didn't come."

"Sorry. We got held up in something." Jesse said.

"Too bad, you would've really enjoyed them, but not what happened before." Jeremie said.

"What happened?" Kendo asked.

"Well, I figured we needed new ways to fight XANA since I was able to Materialize Aelita here." Jeremie said. "So I programmed a detection system that will sense any Activated tower, as well as three new vehicles."

"Sounds pretty cool if you ask me." Natsu said.

"Not exactly. In the middle of our testing run in the Desert Sector, a new monster showed up. A Tarantula." Odd said.

"Tarantula?" Starlight asked.

"It's better not to ask." Ulrich said.

"Good to know." Al said.

"So we're just going into the woods and sketching plant pics?" Hope asked.

"Yep. Pretty much." Maka said.

"Good thing Shiozaki is with us. She can help us out with the plant descriptions." Francisca said.

"Oh yeah. She uses the Nature Style right?" Kohaku asked.

"There is no Nature Style. Shiozaki uses a Vines Quirk." Kendo said.

"Sorry." Kohaku said.

"Grace is the one that has the Plant Style, if that was what you meant." Kokoro asked.

"Geez… Ever since Furious Sports, that name always seems to go back to Kohaku." David said.

"Dark Pit is no better off either. Because he's Pit's dark half, his wings had to be duct-taped, too." Petra said.

"How did you get him to be taped?" Hope asked.

"You don't want to know…" Dark Pit said. "Let's just say my team's methods were more… extreme."

"I'm not even gonna ask. Let's just go and do this field trip." Ruenheid said.

As the group talked, they were unaware as they headed into the woods, they were being watched by several eyes in the treetops.

"...!" David gasped.

"What's wrong?" Francisca asked.

"I'm getting this feeling...We're not alone here." David said.

"I can sense it too. Let's keep going for now." Aluche said.

"You don't think… are the Kingdoms here already?" Leonora asked.

"It's possible. They don't need to touch ground but they can send troops ahead of time." Ranma said.

"We need to figure out who, or what... Were dealing with." Kendo said.

"Not out here. Too many students. Let's try and get further into the forest." Soul said.

"For now let's just play along." Saki said.

"Yeah. Using our powers where people can see us will only cause a panic." Elize said.

"Wait. Where's Aelita?" Al asked.

"She must have gone further into the forest. We shouldn't leave her alone. It's not safe there." Zinia said.

"Right. Let's go look for her." Kor said.

Further into the woods, Aelita walked on her own as she looked around scared. "Monsters only exist in fairy tales. Monsters only exist in fairy tales." She repeated to herself before she saw a vision of a wolf before she screamed and ran off further in, dropping her notebook on the way.

"Aelita?!" Hope asked as the heroes later came to find her notebook. "Where in the heck did she go?"

"These footprints show she must've gone this way." Veruschka said as the group saw footprints.

But they didn't last long as they were blown away as they saw several birds with spiked feathers above.

"Spearow!" Twilight said. "A whole flock of them."

"Well then… Flying Kingdom of Avia it is then." Hope concluded.

"Should we charge through, Hope?" Lin asked.

"Sure, do it! We'd like a chance to claw out your eyes." one of them said as they all laughed.

"No. I've got this." Francisca said. "It won't take all of us to deal with these bird-brains. You all go on ahead."

"Alright. Catch up to us when you're done here. And be careful Franny." Zan said as the group ran on ahead.

"One little girl against all of us. Easy! Let's go!" One of them said as they all charged at Francisca.

Francisca conjured icicles and sent them flying towards the Spearow.

"Aah! Retreat! Retreat!" One of them said as they all dodged the icicles flying at them before flying away.

"Whew… That was something. But...why do I feel like it's not over yet?" Francisca asked.

"Franny, behind you!" A voice yelled out as Zan rushed in and blocked an oncoming attack.

"Whoo, that was close! Nice save, sis!" Flamberge said running up.

"You two… Didn't I tell you to go with the others?" Francisca asked.

"Yes. But we sensed something else besides those birds and came rushing back. Show yourself!" Zan called out.

"Well...seems there are some powerful warriors out here." A voice said as two birds stepped out. One resembled a duck with a leek and the other a larger bird with a long beak.

"Who are you?" Zan asked.

"Farfetch'd and Fearow...Avia's top jailers." The duck said.

"And you three are interfering with our mission. Therefore...we're about to take you as prisoners." Fearow said.

"Sorry. But I prefer you don't underestimate us. Franny! Berge! To arms!" Zan said as she summoned her Spear.

"Right. Let's go, my sisters!" Francisca said as her fists charged in ice.

"WIth the three of us together, no way a couple of bird brains will beat us! Give us all you got, oh yeah, I'm burning up!" Flamberge said drawing her sword.

"I'll make quick work of them, my trusted partner. With a simple Wing Attack!" Farfetch'd said charging in.

Francisca dealt an icy uppercut at Farfetch'd. "Berge, Zan, now!"

"Yeah!" Flamberge said.

"Understood. Thunder Lance!" Zan yelled as she thrusted spear onto Farfetch'd as lightning struck him. "Berge!"

"You're mine, Fearow!" Flamberge said summoning four swords.

"How dare you harm my buddy! I'll make all of you pay with a Drill Peck!" Fearow said as he ignored Flamberge and went for the other two.

"Franny! Let's do it." Zan said charging up her magic.

"Alright." Francisca said as she charged in. "This is one of my master's favorites. Arctic Style: Crystal Blitz!" Francisca landed a barrage of icy kicks before sending him upward. "The final blow is yours!"

"Right.I who stand in the full light of the heavens, command thee to open the gates of hell, come forth divine lightning! This ends now...Indignation!" Zan chanted as a beam of lightning struck down on to Fearow.

"Well...that was easy." Francisca said after both birds had been taken down.

"Nicely done sisters. We should catch up to the others." Zan said.

"No fair… I didn't get one hit in." Flamberge moped.

"You'll get your chance soon, Berge. I'm sure of it." Francisca said.

"Yes, so don't worry." Zan said as she smiled at her.

"Heh… thanks Franny, Zan." Flamberge said.

As this fighting had gone on, Aelita had ran further into the forest before arriving at an old house. "The hermitage." she said as she headed inside. Upon entering the house, it looked ransacked and deserted. As she walked, she had visions of the house at an earlier point in time where she saw a man playing on the piano. She was confused until she was suddenly attacked by a black shroud as she screamed.

Later, the group met up with Yumi, Ulrich and Odd outside the Hermitage.

"The Hermitage… it figures she'd come here." Hope said.

"Let's head inside. Hopefully she's safe." Aluche said.

"Hey, if you guys are wondering about this creepy place, this is where…" Hope said before David shut him up.

"Loose lips sink ships, Hope. And we don't spill info on the future." David said.

"Right because of Ulrich, Yumi, and Odd, right?" Lin asked.

"Right. They can't know about this yet." David said.

"Alright. We'll hear the story later when it's safe to talk about it." Ryu said.

"Guys! I found her!" Dan said next to Aelita as she woke up.

"Get out! It's a trap!" She said before the door slammed shut behind them.

"Oh, this is not good." Petra said.

"Hiyah!" Kohaku yelled as she kicked the door down.

"Kohaku! Desk!" Kendo warned as a desk was flying at her.

"Oh no you don't!" Hisui yelled as he caught the desk.

"XANA...it's him. He's possessed the house." Lacy said.

"Seriously? I didn't expect him to turn this into a haunted mansion story."

"We've got to get moving to the factory!" David said.

"That's only if we get outta here before XANA traps us in a Sauna!" Hope said as the basement door was sliding to be shut.

"Grr… I can't hold this door forever." David said as he tried to hold the door.

"Hold on!" Ryu said as he shifted into Dragon Form and grabbed the door as he helped pull it back. "Alright, everyone out."

"Ryu!" Natsu shouted before a couple of electrical cords hit Ryu electrocuting him into unconsciousness.

"Grr… Guys, hurry! This door is really going to crush me!" David said. "Guys?" he asked before most of them ran out. "Oh give me a…" he said before a claw like hand was holding the door back. "Uh...thanks?"

"Tell me...the Japanese girl known as Yumi...is she trapped in the room down there?" the figure asked.

"Yes, with Ulrich. They're gonna die in there if we don't get to the factory right now." David said.

"Then I don't have much time." the figure said running down there.

David headed out and made his way to the factory. "Attention everyone, Ulrich and Yumi are trapped in the sauna at the Hermitage. Anyone that's available, head to the factory and back up Odd and Aelita."

"It's Gray. I'm already en route!" Gray said.

"Me and Arnice are on our way to." Ace said.

"Alright. I'll be counting on you guys." David said.

It didn't take much for the three to be transferred into Lyoko, it's Ice Sector to be more precise.

"This feels weird." Ace said as he had white and black tribal markings on his cheeks.

"You're in a virtual world, Ace. The avatars are customized specifically for each individual." Jeremie said.

"Interesting, I must say this is impressive." Arnice said as she was in her transformed state. "Where are Odd and Aelita?"

"Running from that." Gray said pointing to Aelita running from a strange creature with blaster limbs and a robotic looking deer with fire antlers.

"What the hell, are those robots?" Ace asked.

"Well one is. The other is a monster on Lyoko." Gray said.

"So...more people have come to mess with Flame Stag!" The deer robot said as he charged at them.

"Here he comes!" Arnice said as she launched a huge fireball from the air.

"That is useless!" Flame Stag said breaking through. "Speed Burner!" he said charging.

"Let me handle this. Ice Make: Sword!" Gray said making a sword as he charged. He rose it into the air before slashing through the robot.

"I...I may have fallen. But my master is far more powerful than you!" He said before exploding.

"Alright. All that's left is the monster." Ace said before piercing through it with Judgement Bolt Chidori.

"Aelita, Odd, you two okay?" Arnice asked.

Aelita only ignored her as she ran for the tower.

"What was that about? Is Aelita alright, Jeremie?" Ace asked.

"Yeah, she's fine. She's just doing her job in deactivating the tower." Jeremie said. "She is the only one who can, after all."

"I see. Anymore monsters in the area?" Arnice asked.

"No. I think we're all clear." Jeremie said.

"Trust me...when Aelita makes it to the tower...the mission is accomplished so no need to hunt down monsters." Gray said.

"Alright. So what happens now?" Ace asked.

"This." Jeremie said. "Return To the Past, now!" He said as a bright light spread before time restarted to the point where the group was about to head off to the forest.

"Okay...that was weird. Did we just go back in time?" Lin asked.

"In a way." David said.

"So it never happened huh? At least Yumi and Ulrich are safe. But what happened to XANA?" Aluche asked.

"Gone into hiding, concocting his next plan." Petra said.

"But we'll be ready next time. By the way, Aelita, are you alright?" Kohaku asked as she put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm fine. I just had these...strange visions when I was inside that place." Aelita said.

"I see. We'll give you time and some space to sort it out. We'll help whenever you need us." Zan said.

"Thank you. I'll be counting on you all." Aelita said.

Meanwhile, over in Avia…

"So you mean to tell me, three little girls defeated the two of you?" Asked a green lizard like creature with leaves on his arms.

"Yes. Well it was really the two of them. The third just kept talking and showing off." Fearow said.

"Shh. You're gonna make it sound worse. But all is true, Top General Grovyle." Farfetch'd said.

"Hmm. If that is the case, these Dimensional Heroes are more adversary like than I thought. I think we'll have to call in...the Flying Aces." Grovyle said.


	3. Uncharted Territory

It was early the next morning at the crack of dawn.

"Well...this officially is surprising." Hope said. "How'd I end up rooming with you?" he asked with Jack as he looked over a few knives.

"Easy. I just told the boarding place we were brothers and they put us together." Jack said.

"It's not that I don't mind but...well…" Hope said.

"Don't trust the thief huh? Even if he's family. Real cold of ya." Jack said.

"No no no! I'm sorry. Look. You can Uh...have my dessert for the next week?" Hope said.

"Perfect, thanks." Jack said heading out happily.

"Why do I feel like I just got played?" Hope said. "But either way… you're right about one thing. We are brothers. But sometimes I feel like we don't act like it. Ace, Spade and Simon are always together. The two of us? We have our own paths."

"Don't let it get to you, Hope." A voice said as Simon was seen leaning against the doorway.

"Speak of the Umbral Magician." Hope said. "And I meant what I said. I suppose if you, Ace and Spade are on the same team as brothers… I'm more than a little jealous."

"Well believe it or not. Ace sees you, Jexi and David as brothers even if you're not related by blood. It's the thought that counts." Simon said.

"I guess so." Hope said. "Wait...why are you here? I would have thought you'd join your brothers in guarding the factory."

"Well I decided to enroll here thanks to Jeremie's help. I haven't been able to go to school for obvious reasons." Simon said. "Come on, let's go get some breakfast in the cafeteria."

"Yeah, I'm starving." Hope said.

Jack was already on his way there before a hand grabbed him as he saw Dan there. "What?"

"Look...we need you to do something for Jeremie and the others." Dan said. "It's something only a thief can pull off."

"A thief eh? Fine. What do you want?" Jack asked.

"A set of files on someone named Franz Hopper. From the Kadic archives. Think you can do it?" Dan asked.

"Please...I'll get those before Breakfast is even out." Jack said heading out.

"Hey, Dan? We may have a problem." Anna said over a comm.

"Problem?" Dan asked.

"The others saw Aelita run past them into the factory, they said she looked upset about something. Let Jeremie and the others know what I told you." Anna said.

"Upset. Let's see...what happened to...Ah crap!" Dan said running out.

At the factory, Aelita was at the Supercomputer as she typed in the settings for an automatic virtualization before heading down to the scanners as Harpuia, Sectonia, and Rose gave chase.

"Damn. She's already doing it. She's running away." Rose said.

"Let's go after her, she's defenseless right now." Harpuia said.

"Harpuia, can you handle the virtualization process?" Sectonia asked.

"If it's anything like Cyberspace, I'll manage." Harpuia said.

"It's a virtual world, so you won't have to worry about much. Let's go, Rose." Sectonia said.

"There's only two unoccupied scanners. Sectonia, you and Harpuia should go. I have a feeling something's about to go on right now." Rose said.

"Alright. Join us when you can." Harpuia said as he and Sectonia headed to the scanners.

"Okay, I got this." Rose said virtualizing the two. "Now...as for the other business…" She said going up the elevator and entering the main floor to see several red birds in the area. "So...this is what I was sensing."

"You have impeccable senses...for a human." A voice said as a large red bird stood at the top. "I am Talonflame! Leader of this brigade and one of Avia's 10 Flying Aces!"

"So you're practically the top brass of Avia." Rose said.

"Along with General Grovyle, and of course our glorious king, Rufflet, we 10 Aces serve as Avia's shield. And you are in our way of conquering this world, Dimensional Hero." Talonflame said.

"Need a hand, Rose?" A voice said as two ice dragons intercepted Talonflame as Leviathan floated down next to Rose.

"Leviathan, great timing! This guy's a Fire and Flying type, so the two of us can take him down." Rose said.

"Ha! I have a full army! You can't defeat all of us!" Talonflame said. "Attack!" He said before water shurikens were being tossed in as a figure was running around tossing them. "This attack...could this be?" He said before it landed between Leviathan and Rose.

"Who are you?" Rose demanded.

"I am but a simple ninja. But do not worry." They said stepping out of the shadows to reveal Greninja. "I am an ally to you this day!"

"Alright, good timing. Let's show these feather brains what we're made of." Leviathan said as she twirled her halberd and pointed it at Talonflame.

"It's true...the deserter...he is on this world!" Talonflame said. "Meaning...I shall gain glory by eliminating all three!" He thought as he took to the sky. "Flame Charge!" he said charging at the three while lit on fire.

"Not a chance!" Leviathan said as she spun her halberd and launched an Ice Dragon at him. "You're up, Rose!"

"I got it!" Rose said charging. "Double Demon Fang!" Rose said slashing twice. "Your turn, Greninja!"

"Talonflame. This is a waring attack...you should have never...made enemies of this group!" Greninja said forming two water blades as he slashed through Talonflame as he fell to the ground defeated.

"Retreat!" A Fletchinder called as the flock of Fletchinder and Fletchling flew out of the factory.

"One down, 9 to go." Rose said. "But Greninja, they called you a Deserter. Does that mean you're a former general?"

"In a way yes. I did serve a kingdom but events that occured during a battle have forced me to abandon my position." Greninja said.

"Ah. Anyway, thank you for your help. What will you do now?" Leviathan asked.

"I am only here to keep an eye on an old friend. A former general of Ignis, Blaziken." Greninja said. "For now...I must go." He said before vanishing in a stream of water.

"Heh. Reminds me of Phantom in a way." Leviathan said as she laughed before seeing Jeremie arrive.

"Has Aelita already been here?" Jeremie asked.

"Yeah, but she went to Lyoko. Sectonia and Harpuia are going after her." Rose said.

"I'm on it." Jeremie said before they went to the computer. "This can't be right! The scanner can't find them in any of the sectors!"

"Are they still in Lyoko?" Leviathan asked.

"Their icons are still on the monitor but they aren't showing up in any of the four sectors." Jeremie said.

"Don't worry, Jeremie. We're fine. But I think this is some kind of new sector." Harpuia said.

"He's right. A strange sphere brought us to some strange cold sphere." Sectonia said.

"Incredible...a fifth sector?" Jeremie said before seeing it brought up. "It's...in the core of Lyoko itself!"

"The core? So this is basically the heart, right?" Harpuia asked.

"There has to be something about it in here." Jeremie said looking through the notes. "Project Carthage. Maybe this might have a keyword to help."

"Alright. We'll protect Aelita while you look for it. Send the others as soon as you can." Harpuia said.

"Hmm. Leviathan...Rose...You two are headed in." Jeremie said.

"Got it. Let's go Rose." Leviathan said as she and Rose headed to the scanners.

"Okay. Transfer Rose, Transfer Leviathan. Scanner Rose, Scanner Leviathan. Virtualization." Jeremie said sending them in.

"Wow. This sensation, It's like Cyberspace." Leviathan said as she looked like a mermaid reploid.

"Yes...in a way." Rose said looking around the Forest Sector.

"Find anything Jeremie?" Leviathan asked.

"I'm trying to find the code. Hmm. Let's see...who defeated Carthage? Ah! Scipio!" He said entering the code as a sphere rose from the digital sea.

"Guess that's our ride…" Rose said getting in. "Cmon, Leviathan."

"Right behind ya." Leviathan said as she entered the sphere as it flew them to a different area and they found themselves in an unknown area, a strange metallic place.

"Sector 5...a strange looking place. Jeremie...see her yet?" Rose asked.

"Yes. I've found her but she's in trouble." Jeremie said.

In another place, a strange jellyfish like creature had it's tentacles wrapped around Aelita as it was draining something from her.

"Hands off her, fiend!" Harpuia said as he sliced through the Jellyfish monster only for it to do nothing.

"Wait a second… If its tentacles are draining her, then maybe…" Sectonia said as she took out her sword and sliced its tentacles.

The jellyfish then let go of Aelita before it floated away as Harpuia caught her.

"Don't worry, Jeremie. Aelita's safe." Harpuia said.

"But now we should escape this place. The room will change any minute now." Sectonia said.

"Right. Come on!" Harpuia said as they immediately ran back as the room began closing behind them.

"Everyone this way!" Leviathan called out.

"What's with this place, it's like it has a mind of its own!" Rose said.

"Yes. Like a living thing." Sectonia said as they headed for the transport. They rushed in before it closed and brought them back to the forest sector.

"Alright Aelita, head into the tower." Harpuia said. "We're ready as well, Jeremie."

"Okay...bringing you all back." Jeremie said.

"Man...that sector was something. We should bring Yumi and the others tomorrow." Leviathan said.

"Or at some given point." Rose said.

"By the way, are you okay Aelita?" Harpuia said putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm fine. That thing, it felt like it was stealing my memory." Aelita said.

"I wonder if that was XANA's intention?" Rose asked.

"Hard to say, all we can do now is fend off that thing when it shows up again. Best to let the others know about it too." Leviathan said.

It was later on the Sunny that Jack came with two sets of files. "Here. Files on Franz Hopper. And another that may interest you." He said showing a set of files.

"The private files of...Crecatious Flux." Jexi said.

"Hmm...looks like most of it is encrypted. Mari, Vera, and I will decipher them and let you know what we find out." Camilla said.

"But...who is this guy anyway? Such a weird name." Mina said.

"He's the father of all the Flux Families. Even the father of Amadeus Flux himself." Jexi said.

"And he was also a travel companion of our fathers when they were our age." David said.

"All three of your fathers?" Ace asked.

"Yes. Though his motives as of now are a mystery as he's always travelling." Jexi said.

"Hmm. Mastemon did mention a strange figure stopping by Devaloka a few years ago for unknown reasons. Could've been him." Spade said.

"Maybe. Who can say for sure?" Sectonia asked.

"Guess we'll find out when our researchers decipher the files." Ace said.

"For now, we need to find out more about Franz Hopper and Sector 5." Hope said. "And plan our next moves for sieging Avia, and prepare for the next Flying Ace."

Back in Avia…

"Talonflame, defeated?" Grovyle asked.

"I saw it with my own eyes! I don't think anyone could defeat our commander, let alone one of the 10." Fletchinder said.

"Then our best advantage is to strike at night. Next attack...I'll have Noctowl go next." Grovyle said.

"An excellent strategy, General. No one can beat Noctowl when it comes to night assaults." Fletchinder said.

"Yes...Noctowl will do nicely." Grovyle said.

It was later that evening that Greninja watched from the trees to see Blaziken looking at Yumi's house. "My old friend...why must you go to these lengths...just for her?" Greninja pondered.


	4. Exploration

"I'm worried guys. With all this going on, i dunno who else Avia has captured besides Skyler." Ruby said.

"Oh, that's right… weren't you one of their prisoners too?" Natsu asked.

"Don't remind me. They were harsh jailers. I only got out cause the jailers were distracted and I slipped out." Ruby said.

"Are we missing anyone besides Skyler since we arrived?" Lilliana asked.

"I've taken a headcount. There doesn't appear to be anyone else missing." Niles said.

"So if it's not Ruby and Aladdin this time, I wonder who will be in their prison with Skyler?"

"Don't know. We can make assumptions, but that would be assuming they were caught in this redux too."

"Who?" Lin asked.

"Well, since the Heroes Coalition was disbanded, all personnel there were scattered to parts unknown. Wait… Ruby, didn't you say you had friends among them?" Sectonia asked.

"Well yeah… Jaune, Ren and Nora were still in Remnant after Vytal, and they weren't doing anything, so they were taken in." Ruby said.

"And then there were the rumors that they rebuilt Penny." Weiss said.

"You don't think that...Pandora made them Avia's prisoners instead, do you?" Elize asked.

"Let's hope not." Aluche said.

"Even if Pandora grabbed them, they're really strong. They won't go down without a fight." Ruby said. "I know cause before I rejoined after the Rift Crisis, we were formed into a team of our own for a bit...before rejoining with you guys, of course."

"But it makes you wonder. Aladdin was also with you. If Pandora wants to make this interesting, she'll find a replacement for him too." Ty said.

"Oh come on. That's a bit of a stretch isn't it?" Tsuyu said.

"Hmm. Maybe, maybe not. We don't know a thing about Pandora. Who knows what she could have done." Jexi said.

"It's hard to say. By the way we're exploring Sector 5 today aren't we?" Simon asked.

"Tomorrow...its still night." Jexi said.

The next day…

"Well...tonight is the night." Rainbow said.

"Exploration of Sector 5...it's a perfect night for it." Natsu said.

"Perfect night for what?" Kendo asked.

"Exploring Sector 5. We got the call. Its going down tonight. We're only at the gate cause we like to wait for Yumi." Natsu said.

"There she is. But who's she with?" Kendo asked.

"Think it's her parents." Natsu said. "That's never a good sign when parents are around."

"I would think they're suspicious of what Yumi's been doing every night." Kendo said.

"Come on. All she does is sneak out at night, get into mischief on Lyoko and...okay hearing myself, it does sound pretty bad." Ryuji said.

"That's the thing with Japanese families. They're very disciplined." Harumi said.

"And sometimes strict, if I may add." Mayumi said.

"Here she comes." Lin said as Yumi approached them. "Everything okay?"

"Does it look like it?" Yumi asked.

"We were just worried, that's all." Lilliana said.

"Yeah...and because of my sneaking out...my parents are insistent on taking me to and from school. And that's not enough...that Blaziken guy...whoever he is...snuck into my room and left this." Yumi said holding a fan with a stone in its base.

"Looks like a Mega Stone embedded in the fan." Mari said.

"That's actually a Keystone. I bet Blaziken has his Mega Stone already." Kendo said. "It was explained in one of Crecatious's files that the holdings of these stones can come in different forms."

"Yes. From what Tails said, it'll take some time before the researchers and him get the rest decoded." Lacy said.

"And we may get some new information out of it and see how it's connected to Cretacious." Lin said.

"For now...we head out in the dead of night." Natsu said.

Later that night…

"We have to stay sharp here. An attack could happen at any time." Kendo said as they ran through the forest.

"Right." Lin said as she had her pistol out and kept watch till the manhole was opened.

"We can't rely on Yumi for this one. We can't risk her getting into even more trouble with her parents." Francisca said.

"Don't worry, we got your backs like glue." Rainbow said.

"Alright. Let's go." Zan said.

"You three are next." Jeremie said sending in Rainbow, Francisca and Zan after sending in Aelita, Odd and Ulrich.

A few minutes later after arriving in Sector 5…

"Okay...so maybe we don't got this." Rainbow said as she, Francisca and Zan were running about Sector 5. "I can't believe we already got Odd and Ulrich devirtualized and lost Aelita!"

"Jeremie, can you direct us to her?" Zan asked as they kept running.

"Yes...but there is something you should know. We can't send a lot of backup. The Sunny is under attack by owls." Jeremie said.

"Owls?!" Rainbow asked.

Back at the Sunny…

"This is SO not our night." Mina said as dozens of Hoothoot were flying around.

"Hang in there, Mina." Arnice said as she flew through the flocks of Hoothoot and threw small fireballs at a few of them.

"They pick the dead of night to strike? Something's up." Blake said.

"Hoo! Seems we have you cornered." A voice said as a large owl flew above. "I, Noctowl of the Flying Aces, shall take glory of this night. You people can see well during the day...but we rule the night."

"Don't get so cocky, fool." A voice said as Phantom was right in front of him and knocked him back before landing.

"Because you see…" Maki said as she came out. "The night is an assassin's friend, too."

"Sorry to say but you're outta luck." Aya said as she threw a couple of throwing knives at them.

"No...how could this be? Humans...they shouldn't be able to see us this late in the night." Noctowl thought. "No worries. While they may sense us...we can still see them perfectly." Noctowl said seeing them clearly as if it were day. "Screech!" Noctowl said letting loose a loud screech. "This is perfect...I'll just let them fall and...huh?" Noctowl wondered before seeing something over him. "A cloud?"

"Zeus Breeze Tempo!" Nami shouted before lightning struck Noctowl and the Hoothoot before they fell.

"Whoa! Since when could you do that, Nami?" Kaito asked.

"Well I did have help." Nami said as Zeus floated down beside her. "My servant here makes sure of that."

"No surprise there." Maki said.

"Still, that line you pulled was amazing, Maki Roll." Kaito said.

"W-well, it's the truth." Maki said blushing.

"Not to mention it was cool as hell." Denki said.

"Look out!" Aya said as she blocked an incoming attack and countered with a throwing knife.

"Who's there? Show yourselves!" Maki said.

"Who's there? A remaining Avia soldier? We already defeated your commander so come out!" Denki shouted.

"Well, if you insist…" A voice said as a figure was stepping out of the darkness.

Meanwhile in Sector 5…

"Okay...I think we lost those creepers. Wait...I hear something." Rainbow said before they saw Aelita in the tentacles of another Jellyfish monster but approached by three robots.

"Who..who are you?" Aelita asked.

"We...are Gospel." said the robot of ice and icicles.

"Or what's left of it thanks to your no good friends." the magnet robot said.

"But we are the three elites out of it. I am CutMan!" the scissor robot said.

"I'm MagnetMan!" the magnet robot said.

"And I am FreezeMan...its leader. And you...you were our target." he said as the creature started draining from Aelita. "With her memories, our deal with XANA shall be fulfilled."

"Oh no you don't. Zan, get the key!" Francisca said as she swung her axe at the tentacles.

"No ya don't. Rolling Cutter!" CutMan said throwing it as Francisca jumped back. "So...you were watching us huh? Then we gotta...cut you out!"

"Cutting puns? Really?" Francisca asked.

"Shut up! They're cool!" CutMan said.

"They really aren't." MagnetMan said.

"Who's side are you on?!" CutMan said before dodging an attack. "Whoa! You actually got my guard down."

"Don't be so cocky. I've seen records of you all...and you didn't make the cut." Francisca said as she got her axe ready.

"There, see? That's actually better." MagnetMan said.

"Enough! She is a plague to this world of organics. But she will be cleansed when XANA is complete." FreezeMan said.

"I think it's a little too late for that." Francisca said as the room began to reconfigure itself and Aelita was freed.

"Damn it. That girl was a distraction!" MagnetMan said. "One of them tripped the key!"

"No...go and find them! We cannot afford the pink haired human to slip away. She is the key for all of this!" FreezeMan said as the two ran out.

"Everyone okay? Let's get out of here!" Francisca said.

"Right. Jeremie, how are things outside?" Zan asked.

"I heard a lightning strike but after that hit the troops, all went dark. Just get the code to bring Ulrich and Odd back and then get back here." Jeremie said.

"Roger that." Francisca said as they got on an elevator lift, picking up Aelita as they passed by her.

"Okay Jeremie, I'm at the Interface." Aelita said going to work. "I...I don't believe it. Sector 5...this is...where XANA lives."

"And we've got company." Francisca said as several manta like creatures appeared.

"Give me a sec, I'll get the vehicles ready." Jeremie said.

"No need for me and Franny. You're still able to fly right?" Zan asked.

"Of course." Francisca said.

"Alright, me and Franny will take care of the manta rays. Rainbow, can you protect Aelita till she finishes?" Zan asked.

"Who do you think I am?" Rainbow asked gunslinging her Rainbow Blade.

"I'm afraid to answer." Francisca said as they flew off as Rainbow fended where she stood.

The Sisters then flew into the air and combated the Manta Rays.

"Voltaic Roar!" Zan yelled as she launched a widespread wave of lightning onto one of them.

"Frigid Storm!" Francisca called as crystals rained down on a few more mantas.

"Hurry up Aelita!" Rainbow said doing her best on her own.

"Okay….I have it!" Aelita said.

"Okay. I have the code." Jeremie said. "I'm already bringing Ulrich and Odd back and sent the sphere for you four. Get in it quickly."

"You heard Einstein, Zan and Franny! It's time to blow this code pile!" Rainbow said.

"Understood. Let's go Franny." Zan said as the two flew back to Aelita and Rainbow as they all entered the sphere.

It didn't take long before all of them were brought back as Rainbow, Zan and Francisca ran for the Sunny. "Okay! Backup is here! Where are ya guys?" Rainbow said. "Hello?" She asked seeing the deck empty before seeing a light in the dining hall.

"We're in here guys." Ryu said standing in the doorway.

"What happened? We heard from Jeremie that after you beat the attack, another intruder seemed to have approached." Rainbow said.

"Come in and see for yourself." Ryu said.

They looked at each other before stepping inside.

"Alright. So where's the intruder?" Rainbow asked.

"Right over here." A voice said as they turned to the end of the table.

"Who are you?" Zan asked confused.

"Who am I, you ask?" The person said as the shape was revealed to be a woman with light blue hair in soldier gear.

"Sinon?" Rainbow asked.

"You know her?" Francisca asked.

"She was a recruit in the Coalition same time I went and joined with them." Rainbow said.

"I see. An old friend. Well then welcome, Sinon." Zan said. "But...why are you here?"

"Honestly...I thought that would be something you people could tell me." She said.


	5. A Great Day

The first thing that was in order when Kirito and Asuna discovered that Sinon was on the Sunny, was give her a two-for-one specialty hug.

"That's sweet. You three must go way back, huh?" Kor said.

"Me and Sinon were once fighters in the same game." Kirito said.

"Yes. We played GGO once." Sinon said.

"GGO?" Hope asked.

"Gun Gale Online. It was a game focusing more on rifles and guns." Rainbow said.

"So like Resident Evil in a way, except more Sci Fi, right?" Mari asked.

"Pretty much sums it up, yeah." David said.

"Everyone. We managed to decipher the files." Camilla said as she and Vera came in.

"Cretaceous's work here, you've got it decoded." Damien said. "This is my dad's life's work."

"Uh...well Camilla might be over exaggerating. We were able to decrypt a few titles but not the main work." Tails said. "And it was by himself alone."

"Let me look." Jexi said looking it over. "Seems he spread his work around quite a bit. Ah!"

"What is it?" Ace asked.

"Look...third one from the bottom." Jexi said pointing to a title with the words Olympos XII on it.

"It's data on me and the others." Tsuki said. "What could this mean?"

"Well, he was travelling around for most of his life, so it's no surprise that he's gotten some information on it." Sayuri said.

"It could help us." Jexi said.

"Problem is...even with us researchers working together, this is very difficult to decipher. It's a coding technique I've never even seen." Tails said.

"I always find it so amazing that Cretaceous has been involved with something in every universe, every world. The man is somewhat of a legend." Hope said.

"He seems to have been quite the dedicated researcher. Travelling across the whole multiverse and every world like Hope said. Just who was he?" Ace asked.

"You kidding? He started 25 families and left them all! Including mine." Damien said.

"Did he have a reason why he left?" Spade asked.

"That's the thing, we don't really know much about him, even though his accomplishments are among the thousands. The man's still a mystery." Gemini said.

"Does anybody know of his current whereabouts or is he MIA?" Aya asked.

"MIA. He never stays in one place for very long." Sayuri said.

"Plus there is nothing on him that can be used for tracking. He's a mystery all right. One never to be solved." Sanji said.

"All we can do now is try and find someone to help decipher the rest of the files." Ace said.

"But speaking of Mysteries, what's Sinon even doing here?" Asuna asked.

"That's what I asked last night. I honestly have no clue how I came here. I remember getting on a train back to my world. I was playing GGO in my room, next-" Sinon began.

"Sinon, I'm afraid I'll have to be blunt about this. This is a redux, a retelling of our past adventure. Unfortunately, some members that joined Jexi's team after being freed by the kingdoms are here and you were pulled into it in their place." David said.

"Kingdoms? Wait...I think I do remember something. A large castle...made to look like some kind of ninja house...surrounded by lakes of poison." Sinon said.

"Ah! That's...that sounds like that Viperia place we raided with our Aqua." Bartolomeo said.

"Viperia, the Poison Kingdom. Were you their prisoner?" Mukuro asked.

"And while we're at it, did you happen to see anyone unusual there? Someone else that was held captive?" Tsumugi asked.

"Not that I remember. I think I was just outside of the castle. But I did hear voices from what sounded like a prison." Sinon said.

"So, someone is held captive there. But it's too soon to think about that. We can worry about that once we attack the place." Sectonia said.

"And if the original timeline is anything to go by, that's the last kingdom we attacked while we were here." Jexi said. "Well, to be technical, we only attacked Avia, the other two fell by unknown means...one of them being Aqua, Bartolomeo and Cavendish. But somehow I feel that's not gonna happen twice."

"Yeah, we'll have to dispatch the fighters ourselves." David said.

"Do you know where it's located?" Phantom asked.

"Settle down, settle down. There's no need to rush." Shuichi said.

"I merely asked a question, Saihara." Phantom said.

"Yeah, he's just curious." Erica said. "But I think we should focus on today's events at Kadic."

"Right. Do you guys remember what happened today, Jexi?" Roy asked.

"No way in heck. This is something that didn't happen. All I know is that today is Tuesday and while most of our people are in class, you guys are cutting to…" Jexi said before the ground shook. "Now what?"

They ran outside to see a large mech heading towards them. "Great...I forgot...he was in this past too." Nami said as Flux was seen in the seat.

"Seriously? This idiot?" Leviathan asked.

"Okay, Dimensional Heroes. I'm on a busy schedule right now so I'll make this fast...my father's research notes. I know you took them and now I want them." Flux said.

"Just try and take it." Aya said before slicing off the mechs legs. "Sorry, my hand slipped."

"Son of a bitch!" He said before it fell over as he rolled out.

"Okay...I'm gonna make this quick. It's already close to noon so…" Jexi said about to punch him before they were all suddenly back on the ship the same time at the morning. "What the?"

"What's going on? Why are we back in our rooms this morning?" Sinon asked.

"God dammit, we went back in time!" Saki yelled.

"Was that a Return to the Past? Why did it fire off?" Hope asked.

"I don't know. Think there might be something wrong here." Ace said.

"It's strange. There wasn't even an activated tower so a RTTP shouldn't have gone off." Kid said.

"Jeremie should be able to pick up on an activated tower if that's the case." Miu said.

"So what? We're just going to relive what we did this morning?" Ban asked.

"That's generally the idea. Which means we get to wreck Flux over and over again. Positive."

"We can't go through that continuously, though." Tapu Lele said.

"Which means we have to strike at the source. Miu, when XANA launches it again, head straight for the factory and see if a tower is up." David said.

"On it." Miu said.

Suddenly the ground shook again.

"I've got him." Flamberge said walking out as Flux's mech burst up out of the ground. "Here I come!" Flamberge said going for the legs with her sword only to see the mech undamaged. "Huh?"

"You fools think you're the only ones able to learn from mistakes. Thanks to this little do over...my mech is now immune to cutting attacks and fire!" Flux said.

"How about water then? Camisade Rasengan!" Ace called out as he dashed forward with a swirling orb of water as he hit the mech while a spout of water pierced through it.

"God dammit!" Flux shouted.

"Nice work Ace." Flamberge said grabbing Flux. "Now I finally get to punch you in the face!" she said before the dome of light spread before she was in her room. "What? Ah...what?!"

"Are you kidding me?! Again?!" Kagura yelled annoyed.

"I know it's annoying but...I think me and Jeremie figured out what happened. It's XANA. Some of the code we got from sector 5, it was trapped. XANA's using it to gain control to the RTTP program." Miu said.

"So we're just gonna live the same day over and over again, Groundhog day style?" Hope asked.

"Seems that way. But if it happens again someone's gonna flip." Aya said.

"Not true. Since we were scanned and so was Flux's group, and the barrier around the kingdoms, we're the only ones immune to the RTTP. Everyone else wouldn't notice a thing." Tails said.

"But some of us weren't scanned and yet we still remember. How?" Ryu asked.

"By the time we answer that, XANA is gonna launch the program again. We have to go to the factory now!" David said.

"Agreed. We need to go now." Sinon said before they ran outside before Flux blocked them.

"Ha! I got here early today. I am just loving this day. It's like god is allowing me to make up for all my past failures." Flux said.

"Shut up!" Fefnir yelled as he slammed the mech.

"Ah...so sorry. Thanks to yester...I mean today...man this is confusing. Point is, it's now elements, slash, bullet and blunt proof." Flux said.

"Oh my god. Okay… I'm just going to end this fast." Law said. "Room! Shambles." Law said swapping Flux with a passing seagull as Flux's mech fell into the ocean.

"It is however...too heavy to swim." Flux said groaning.

"We gotta hurry guys. The more RTTPs go off, the more Flux makes his mech stronger." Hope said.

"Less flapping, more running!" David said as they took off to the Factory.

"Okay...Jeremie already sent in Team Lyoko. We just need to…" Jexi said before the light dome spread as they ended up on the ship. "Oh that wasn't even the full time!"

"We got bigger problems!" Miu said looking at the monitor showing Aelita was the only one on Lyoko.

"This time, let's just power through to the factory. I'll just punch out Flux and end this before…'' Hope said only to see Sissi at the door instead. "Sissi...what are you...Ack!" he said as she grabbed his neck.

"She's possessed by XANA! I got her!" Saki said as she tackled Sissi off of Hope. "I got...ahh!" She screamed before being shocked as Sissi phased through her.

"XANA's getting stronger if he's possessing humans." Ichiro said.

"Stronger...that's it. The reason he's setting off all the RTTP's. He's increasing his strength with each one." Hajime said.

"Great...so we gotta worry about another RTTP?" Hope asked.

"Maybe not. I figured out how to block out XANA but I need time. Head on over to Lyoko." Miu said.

"Kirumi, teleport us to the factory. We don't have time to deal with Flux right now." David said.

"Understood. Teleport!" Kirumi called as the group sans Miu warped inside the factory.

"I'll go back-." Al said.

"We don't have time for this whole pick and choose thing! Just go!" Ty said just shoving Al, Zelos and Erica in. "Just send them in!"

"Understood." Vera said as she virtualized them.

"Hastega!" Al called out as she boosted, Erica, Zelos, and her speed before…

"Time Slow." a voice said as the effect was cancelled out as a robot with a clock on its stomach and two bells on its head stood there. "Sorry but you were .000001 seconds to late."

"Gospel!" Erica said.

"Uh...no. I work for Master Flux. I am TimeMan!" he said.

"Speaking of time, you two go on ahead. Aelita needs your help." Zelos said.

Erica and Al agreed as they ran off.

"So...Flux couldn't be here?" Zelos asked.

"No...he said he was getting sick of a repeated defeat. Not sure what he meant but he sent me in his place." TimeMan said.

"Ugh, I totally know what you mean. The one thing he can't stand is a bruised ego." Zelos said as he drew his sword.

"Heh. It's only fitting. On the day that time repeats in the Groundhog effect, I get a shot at the Dimensional Heroes. And with this constant repeat...my abilities over time are infinite." Time Man said firing laser Clock arrows at Zelos.

"Wind Blade!" Zelos called as gusts of wind appeared in front of Zelos, slashing ahead of his like blades.

"Time Slow!" TimeMan said slowing down time around them before firing the arrows at Zelos only for a couple to graze them before it resumed. "In a few seconds, the RTTP will launch once more. But you...you won't last that long." TimeMan said.

"Don't be so sure. My pals and I are more resilient than you think." Zelos said.

"Three...two...one…Time is up!" TimeMan said before nothing happened. "What? It's...it's late? It can't be late!" he said astonished.

"And now...I'll show you what I'm made of…" Zelos said as red angelic wings appeared on his back.

"Wait...I...I call a time-out!" Time Man said.

"Take this! Divine Judgment!" Zelos called as beams of light fall from overhead on TimeMan. "You know, Dave would've been a good match for you. Turns out he didn't even need to fight. Your time powers...couldn't even light a candle to his."

"So very true, right Dave?" Hope asked.

"Hell yeah. I would've used Zone Speed: The World and knocked him out before he even had a chance to move." David said. "Er… Sorry about the naming. I know you're still bitter about Dio."

"Guess...time is up!" TimeMan said before exploding into pieces.

"For you at least." Zelos said. "How's everything on your end?"

"Miu was able to stop the RTTP and Aelita's already deactivated the tower. I had Iida go ahead and take Sissi back to Kadic before she wakes up." Jexi said.

"Look, Jexi, about that Dio reference that David's using with Zone Speed: The World… does it bother you at all?" Hope asked.

"You know I've found closure with that. You don't have to bring up stuff like that." Jexi said.

"You sure? I mean...he was kind of like your adoptive brother for a time." David said.

"He was no brother. Never was… never will." Jexi said.

"Alright… let's just leave it there." Kendo said. "But we have to be careful. XANA's more powerful than ever after firing off consecutive RTTPs. The next attack he does will be no joke."

"I hear that. I'm just glad this day is FINALLY over." David said. "We knew we could count on you, Miu."

"Yeah...I know. I'm pretty amazing." Miu said.

On Flux's Ship…

"Grrrah! These mechs are….USELESS!" Flux said tossing plans to the ground.

"Don't worry...I'm sure the next one will…" Ian said.

"No! I am done with mechs!" Flux said opening a vault filled with guns. "Next time I enter the field...I'm doing things how they are supposed to."


	6. Mister Puck

In Viperia…

"I can't believe this! I'm supposed to be top general, and I get stuck with guard duty?!" Shouted an orange monkey with a long tail. "I was a king, you know! Then she went and robbed my crown!" He said kicking a wall in anger. He punched a board with Leia's face on it, surprised it was still intact and punched again. "Why won't you break?!" He shouted punching it again and again.

"Having another temper tantrum, Monferno?" Asked a voice in the dungeon.

"Shut up! It's none of your business!" Monferno shouted.

"It sounds like you blame someone for your demotion." Another said.

"I said shut up! Oh, how I wanna burn her to bits!" Monferno said.

"Then do it. What's stopping you?" The first voice asked.

"Hmm. Yeah...that's right. I'll lead a battalion down there and take her down...and with her as a prisoner...maybe I can use her as a bargaining chip. I'm out!" Monferno said running out the door.

"That guy's got a short fuse." The second voice said. "But this is our chance to escape with that monkey outta the way."

"Especially considering...he left his keys behind." One of them said pointing to them.

"Heh. Stupid Monkey." The second voice said as the keys were grabbed.

Meanwhile back in Kadic…

"Something's up with Aelita?" Futaba asked.

"Yes. She's been waking up in the dead of night for the past week from these nightmares." Wendy said.

"It has to be connected to The Hermitage somehow. I say we take Aelita there and get her over these nightmares." Sonia said.

"Yes, anything to help ease her mind." Lilianna said.

"But...I don't like going to that place. It has this...scary feeling about it." Aelita said.

"Don't worry. We'll be there to help." Leia said.

It was later, the group headed into the hermitage where they started searching.

"Facing your fears can sometimes lead to great discoveries." Hope said.

"Yeah...if what you want discovered is dust, dust and more dust." Asta said.

"We don't even know what we're supposed to be looking for." Luffy said before Aelita walked ahead of them before approaching a poster which she tore down as she pulled out a small doll version of an elf she had been seeing in her visions.

"Mr...Puck." Aelita said.

"How adorable." Liliana said as she looked at it.

"You remember this thing, Aelita?" Hope asked.

"No. All I know is its name." Aelita said.

"Is this what you saw in your nightmares as well?" Liliana asked.

"Hey, don't keep questioning her. She's...huh?" Jack wondered before he took it. He opened the back of the doll up. "Seems we hit pay dirt." he said pulling out a key and drive.

"That key… It looks like something for those lockers at the railroad station." Mayumi said.

"Let's head down there then." Akira said as they ran out.

Upon reaching the railroad station, Jack unlocked the door with the key before seeing a case inside.

Jeremie pulled it out and opened it to see some discs. He put one into his computer and looked over the data contents. "Guys...what we just found...is Franz Hopper's diary!" Jeremie said.

"His diary? That's big news!" Tsumugi said.

"It's so encrypted though… and there's 13 disks. I've got my work cut out for me." Jeremie said. "We need to get these out of here to make sure no one else gets them." He said heading out before they were approached by an army of purple sludge like creatures and rainbow sludge like creatures.

"Grimer and Muk! Both Kanto and Alola Forms!" Twilight said.

"Viperia's Soldiers, I presume. I didn't think they'd attack preemptively." Ichiro said.

"Hahaha! Well...it's been a long time. But now I've returned...for revenge!" said an orange monkey.

"Huh? You again?" Leia asked.

"Wait...you know him?" Hope asked.

"Come on! She remembers me! I was Ignis's King!" He said.

"You were just a Chimchar back then. I was trying to grab you but you ended up running away." Leia said.

"Yeah...he was a loser but this guy is different." Ranma said.

"I was that loser! Wait, you think I'm a loser?! Forget it. One grudge at a time. Today...I'm here for you!" Monferno said pointing to Leia. "You cost me my throne...and now me and my pals are gonna mess you up!"

"A throne you obtained by sealing Reshiram. Seems this whole payback thing goes both ways." Leia said as she got out her staff.

"Leave our old friend to Leia. We gotta take out our slimy pals." Zephyr said.

"You think you can take em? We just trounced Swellow and Swanna on the way here...two of the Flying Aces!" Monferno said.

"Good. Less problems for us then." David said.

"You're not very bright, Monferno. If you had worked something out with those two, you might've just had us outgunned." Hope said.

"As much as I want to knock him out for that, he's right. It's a little too late for that idea anyway." David said.

"So what? The goal is to conquer all kingdoms! And you all are in the way." Monferno said. "Attack!" he said as the Muk and Grimer of both regions moved in.

"Here they come." Aluche said.

"Let's do this." Gemini said.

"They're Poison and Dark dual types right?" Roy asked.

"The Alolan ones are. The Kantoian ones are just Poison." Tapu Koko said.

"And their weaknesses are Ground right?" Simon asked.

"Simon, I think you should know something. When it comes to fighting the Kingdoms, you don't need to worry about type effectiveness." Hope said.

"Yeah, just punch them!" Rainbow said. "Or you could uh… just summon Baal and make her swallow em."

"He can't summon them anymore, remember? Wait, that's Ace. Look...maybe I better handle this." Dan said. "Go, Arbok!" he said sending out a large cobra. "Use Mud Bomb!" he said as it unleashed a large ball of mud on them before it exploded taking a majority of them out.

"Gaia's Wrath Clash!" Ace yelled as he jumped into the air and pounded the ground causing rocks to erupt around him and another group of Muk and Grimer.

"I...I don't get it. They were elite soldiers. And the Alola Forms were newcomers. I thought we had this!" Monferno said.

"When it comes to you Monferno, it almost seems like every battle you have done is won." Gemini said.

"You might want to take a moment to rephrase that." Leia said as she whacked Monferno upward with her staff.

"Grr. Never should have trusted prisoners to...wait...where are my keys? Damn it! Okay troops, full retreat!" Monferno ordered. "This isn't over!" he said as he ran with them.

"It pretty much is." Aya said.

"Not with that guy. He'll be back, I just know it." Leia said.

"Well at least we're safe, let's see what we can dig up from the diary when we return." Tear said.

"I'm afraid that's not going to happen." A voice said as MagnetMan held Aelita by her throat.

"MagnetMan!" Sakura said.

"Let Aelita go!" Jeremie called.

"Now...I'll be taking that case now." He said. "Either do that or I snap her neck."

"You bastard…. Is there no length you'll go to achieve your goals?"

"We are Gospel...our goals are to make sure robots replace you organics. One girl is a small price to pay." MagnetMan said.

"Fine...you win." Jeremie said tossing over the case.

"Smart move." He said dropping her. "But...also dumb." He grinned as he stomped on the case, destroying all the discs.

"What are you doing?!" Yumi asked.

"Sorry but you could have discovered some big stuff if you read Hopper's diary. So my mission was to destroy it." MagnetMan said.

"Well, we walked right into that one." Ulrich said.

"But...I'm a man of my word. I will let the girl go. But...next time we meet...we will take her." MagnetMan said before he ran off.

"All of that data, gone in an instant…" Aelita said.

"Not quite…" David said.

"What MagnetMan didn't know is that we had already copied the files on the disks into the flash drive." Jeremie said holding it. "However, even if we had the discs, it's gonna take months before I decipher all of them."

"As long as Gospel doesn't know the bait and switch happened, we've got all the time we need to decipher this diary." Connor siad.

"We should probably check up on Swellow and Swanna too. They may be from Avia, but they didn't deserve what happened to them." David said.

"Merciful even to your enemies, huh? I guess that's why a lot of villain reformations involve you." Dark Metaknight said.

The heroes backtracked and found Swellow and Swanna on the ground, Swanna preening herself.

"Oooh…. My beautiful figure has been ruined." Swanna lamented.

"Forget your feathers. We lost our pride today." Swellow said looking to the mass of downed Taillow and Ducklett.

"You two need some assistance?" Hope asked as the heroes appeared before them. "Don't get it twisted, were not here to attack. We're here to help."

"We are enemies...why assist us?" Swellow asked.

"Because even enemies deserve compassion. Come on...let's fix you guys up." Erica said as members of the group started helping the soldiers.

"Hope's Song...Elixir Vitae." Ace said as transparent rings of water along with musical notes appeared around Swanna and Swellow along with their troops as they healed most of their wounds.

"Such elegance." Swanna said.

"Thank you but...do not think this makes us compatriots." Swellow said.

"We know. But… I just couldn't find it in me to let you suffer like that." David said.

"You are a wise person. But..we will not falter that easily." Swellow said as the two flew off with their troops.

"Man, I sure wish that taking the Kingdoms didn't have to result in conflict." Hope said.

"Indeed, sometimes it's not easy to settle conflicts, you'll have to use force if there's no other option." Spade said.

David was looking on at that.

"David?" Ace asked.

"Ah, sorry. What your brother said just now. It just had me thinking." David said.

"I see. Will you be alright?" Ace asked.

"Yeah. Just had some personal thoughts about the past. Not really anything to worry about." David said.

"I apologize for being blunt earlier. But try to keep your spirit up for your comrades." Spade said.

"Now...let's head back to the ship. We have some files to read." Jexi said.

"Indeed." Camilla said.

Later, on the Sunny…

"Well most of the files Cretaceous has are encrypted but there are a few able to be read. Only one pertaining to the Olympos XII." Tails said playing the file as Cretaceous appeared on screen.

"Greetings. File 222: The Olympos XII Part 1 of...who knows. I've been studying these god like beings for a long while. I only have rumors to go off of but no actual evidence. I've come to this town not to just visit my friend Franz Hopper but...well there is some rumor that one of them is here in this city." he said.

"Ah!" Tsuki gasped in shock.

"So this is more than just a simple Redux… one of the 12 may actually be residing near Kadic!" Hope said.

"But the question is, which one?" Locks asked.

"I don't know. We never looked into that the first time we were in this era." Sonic said.

"It could be anyone of them besides Ceresmon and Vulcanusmon." Tsuki said.

"I'm not sure if Hoopa can be of any help either. He knows of their legends, not their locations." Leo said.

"All we can do is just hope things play out and see where it takes us." Jexi said.

"Let's see if there is anymore info on the disc." Lin said as the video resumed before it deleted itself. "What the?"

"Must be a security measure. The moment a file finishes, it deletes itself." Tails said.

"The rest of the files are encrypted. We'll have to wait for Jeremie's input before we find out more." Rantaro said.

"Speaking of… has anyone heard from him lately?" Mineta asked.

"He's busy with the data we got saved from MagnetMan...it's gonna take time and it's only been a day." Jexi said.

"All we can do is wait. So far XANA hasn't made his move yet which is good." Reala said.

"Though, knowing him, it's only a matter of time." Jesse said.

"Yeah...and hope things stay peaceful for a few days." Spectra said. "Course...with our luck...that is not likely."


	7. Valentines and Venusmon, Goddess of Love

"Ah, Valentines Day. A time of love in the air, and sending gifts to those you love most." Sakura said.

"I know, isn't it sweet?" Erica said.

"So uh… you two aren't gonna be fighting over who gives Ogami the better Valentine's present today, right?" Akane asked.

"Maybe he'll like them both. Don't forget there's chocolate as well." Eleanor said handing out her famous chocolate drinks to everyone.

"If you say stuff like that, then you obviously have never been in a love triangle." Ming said. "I have my work cut out for me, though."

"What are you talking about, Ming? Have you even made a single move for David since the Floralia redux?" Hope asked.

"That's the thing! As much as I want to, I can't bring myself to come between them." Ming said.

"Well if you ask me, you could start by giving him a gift. Flowers are usually traditional in this case." Betty said.

"But Sir David and Lady Sectonia look so happy together. Don't you agree?" Liliana asked.

"Uh...huh...so where can I get some flowers?" Ming asked.

"There's a shop in town where they give away flowers for free all day on Valentine's Day." Ty said.

"I can tell you right now, a lot of Valentine's love is in the air. Expect a few cards, candies and chocolate around the ship, and I don't mean these chocolate drinks, which are SO delicious by the way!" Lacy said.

"Thank you!" Eleanor said. "I'm glad you all like them."

"Yeah...I think I'll try the flower approach." Ming said running out. As she ran down the street, she soon spotted a woman in a flower shop uniform being blocked by a Staraptor and a Skarmory.

"Look, I really don't have the time for this. So please, get out of my way." She said.

"Out of our way! We're gonna rip ya to pieces!" Staraptor said.

"And then those Dimensional Heroes!" Skarmory said as the two charged.

"It doesn't seem like anyone is watching...so…" She said putting her hands out. As soon as they got close, she caressed their heads before they calmed. "Healing Therapy." She said.

"So...calming." Staraptor said.

"I like...forgot my rage and junk." Skarmory said.

"There." she said continuing on her way.

"Holy moley, what did I just witness?" Ming asked herself. "Could she be that Olympios XII member that Cretaceous was talking about?"

"Someone WAS watching." The woman said.

"Oh crap, she spotted me!" Ming said. "Okay, Ming. Calm down, calm down. Maybe this won't turn out so bad. Maybe she's a very reasonable person and she won't try to attack." She muttered to herself.

"And maybe she won't have to wipe your memory for being a peeping tom." She said as Ming jumped. "Care to explain?"

"I-I...I was just hoping to buy some flowers! Please, its for love!" Ming begged.

"Love? Well why didn't you say so? Come with me, child." She said.

"Th-There's just one thing I have to ask, though…" Ming said before the woman put a finger to her lips.

"Ah ah ah. No talking...just walking." she said leading Ming to a flower shop. "So...I must ask...how much of that scene did you actually see?"

"Just the part where this light emerged from your hands and calmed those two Flying-types down." Ming said.

"Then you know that I'm not...entirely human." She said before clapping her hands as the curtains closed. She then changed into a being with long white robes and one covering her eyes. "My true identity is Venusmon. A goddess of love." She said.

"I knew it. You really are one of the Olympios XII." Ming said. "I need some flowers to impress someone."

"Hmm. You wish to impress this...David Ishihara...who has his heart belong to another?" Venusmon asked.

"Wait, how do you know his name? He hasn't even been here before." Ming said.

"I am a goddess of love. I learned your love story the moment I brought you in." Venusmon said.

"I see. Well, the big problem is that the biggest thing I've ever been to him is...emotional support." Ming said.

"Ah. Always the shoulder to lean on but never the apple of his eye. Well I hate to say this but even the most perfect flowers in the world wouldn't get his eye off his lover." Venusmon said.

"I know… And that's probably the worst thing about it, no matter what I do." Ming said. "When said lover was missing, I was the emotional support trying to keep his head on straight, but…"

"All he could think of was her. I see. Now...how to get you to be his token of affection? Hmm. Well...there are some ways to accomplish this. One of them is you could fake a situation of trouble and have him come rescue you." Venusmon said.

"Nah, he can read it easily. But… I don't want to jinx it, but… Maybe if I were the one to save him while she's busy…" Ming said.

"Hmm. That might work...but what sort of situation would we put him in? He seems very capable of handling himself." Venusmon said.

"Maybe, but… I think a certain someone will provide that answer for us." Ming said.

At School as Harumi was struggling with an armload of valentines…

"Wow...I knew some of the boys liked me...but didn't know this much." Harumi said before Ming stood before her. "Ming?"

"Hey...Harumi. You are normally so observant...I wanna know if anything's gone on today." Ming said.

"Not to my knowledge." Harumi said. "Oh, wait… There's Ulrich and Yumi having a bad moment, and Aelita's acting a little...weird."

"Hey, does anyone know what's going on with that Necklace she's wearing?" Jesse asked.

"It's likely a gift from a secret admirer." Harumi said. "Left there this morning."

"Necklace?" Ming asked. "Hmm… I think I know what's going on now. Where's Aelita right now?"

"She went to Lyoko with David and Yumi. Looking back on it now, that's probably not a good idea." Harumi said.

"I gotta go!" Ming said as she headed to the factory. "Jeremie...are you there?"

"Ming? Yes, I'm here. What's the…" Jeremie began.

"I want you to start up the scanners for me. I think Aelita is in major trouble." Ming said.

"Alright. I'll have it ready for you." Jeremie said.

It was at the same time on Lyoko…

"Strange...you sure there is an activated tower here? Aelita?" Yumi asked. "Aelita?" she said before Aelita used her creativity to make a rock pillar to knock her back.

"Yumi!" David called. "Aelita, what the heck are you doing?"

"I'm afraid she is not your Aelita." A voice said as David was soon frozen in ice as FreezeMan approached. "She is a servant for now."

"Heh. You think this can hold me?" David said as he placed his hand on the ice, crushing it.

"No….course...freezing you in place wasn't my intention." FreezeMan said before a horde of hornets and crabs approached. "It was to keep you distracted." he said before warping with Aelita.

"Aw, nuts…" David said as he rapidly shot at the monsters. "There's too many of them! I'm sorry, Jeremie, but I don't know how long I can hold out."

"It's fine. Ming is on her way." Jeremie said.

"Alright. I can at least keep it up until she gets here." David said as a laser blast gets shot near him, forcing him to barrel out of the way as his leg was shot. "Damn it." he growled.

It didn't take long after for Ming to arrive on Lyoko in the ice sector.

"I thought you were taking me to David?" Ming asked.

"Aelita takes priority. She is being taken by FreezeMan to the Scyphozoa." Jeremie said.

"Knew it. Though, knowing David, he can hold out a bit longer." Ming said.

"Make sure you knock Aelita out. XANA needs her alive to take her memory. Gospel wouldn't risk killing her." Jeremie said.

"I'll give it my all...oh you gotta be kidding me!" she said seeing a large wall of ice as the Scyphozoa held her captive as FreezeMan stood guard. "Well...better get started." she said climbing up the wall using claws hidden inside her robe.

"Persistence will not get you far. It will not take long for the process to finish." he said.

"He's right. By the time I climb down, I'll be too late. Unless...forgive me, Jeremie." Ming thought as she pulled out a crossbow and fired an arrow at Aelita.

"This is...illogical. You understand by killing her, she will be gone for good, right?" FreezeMan asked.

"Why don't you just shut up?" Ming asked. "You ruined a chance for love today and I'm kinda miffed." she said firing another.

"She's trying to kill her! She knows of her importance." FreezeMan realized. "I cannot let her die...but if we lose her now…" he thought. "Release her!" he ordered the Scyphozoa as it released Aelita.

"FreezeMan commanded the Scyphozoa to release Aelita because Ming was trying to Devirtualize her!" Hope said. "Great strategy, Ming!"

"Though, I imagine he's not too happy about that." Jeremie said.

"You were close to putting our plans in jeopardy. We cannot continue the memory drain for today. Retreat...all of you." FreezeMan said warping as the Scyphozoa flew off.

"FreezeMan...I've decided. For ruining my chance of love today...I will make you pay." Ming said.

"Love? How delusional! Do you really think that boy will fall for someone like you?" FreezeMan said. "Love is like all other things human...a useless emotion." He said.

"I suppose that ideology makes you incapable of feeling love, doesn't it?" Ming asked. "We express it because it shows how much we really care for each other. And at this point, I don't care if he chooses Sectonia! All that matters to me…" She said as she started glowing a purplish-blue. "...is repaying the kindness he has given me on that day!" She shouted as she let out a powerful aura.

"This power…" FreezeMan said.

"So… This is what Mayumi felt back in the IG-3. The power...of an Awakened Enhanced." Ming said as she stood there with multiple weapons out. "Begone…"

"I will…" FreezeMan began before something in his mind clicked.

"Do not waste time with that one. You must continue to live!" A voice echoed in his mind.

"Yes...of course." FreezeMan said stopping as he just turned and ran.

"Somehow, I knew he'd do that. Jeremie, tell David I'm on my way!" Ming said as she ran to back David up. She soon arrived at his location as he was still surrounded by Hornets and Crabs.

"Damn it… This is not good. Even after FreezeMan retreated, they're still relentless." David said as he was leaning on his sword.

"Then let me handle this. Fire!" Ming shouted as multiple projectiles were fired into the air as all of them homed onto the monsters, each one destroying all of them.

"That should do it." David said. "Still, wow. I didn't think you had it in you. Wait… This aura… You've reached an Awakened state now?"

"That's right. I wanted so desperately to repay you for treating me with kindness, even though we were enemies at first." Ming said. "I had to, even if you chose Sectonia over me."

"I'm sorry…" David said.

"Huh?" Ming asked.

"I… I was trying desperately too. Desperate to keep you guys alive because I didn't want to lose any one close again. And now look at me. I ended up being a burden to you and Sectonia." David said. "This whole rivalry you two have was over me, and I was a fool to not see it sooner."

"You're not a burden! In fact, you've been the greatest thing that ever happened to the both of us. And it's not just us. Your kind and compassionate heart has reached out to so many people, and they all wanted to repay you in their own way." Ming said. "And trust me, those are some rare traits to find in a dystopian world."

"Or among hunters." David added. "You're right. I should've believed in my own heart from the start. It was the very thing that helped so many people see that light at the end of the long dark tunnel. In fact, I think I know what my role in the Azran Legacy is. To find troubled souls, and use my heart to bring them in the right direction and help them rise up against the most bitter of adversaries. Thank you Ming. I wouldn't have realized this if you hadn't been here."

"Glad to be here." Ming said. "And I'm happy for you."

It was later at the flower shop…

"At that moment, I realized that...David and I are better as friends than lovers. I might love him but...I accept that he only sees me as a friend." Ming said.

"I see. And you are...comfortable with this?" Venusmon asked.

"Honestly...yeah." Ming said.

"Then my work is done." Venusmon said.

"Thanks...Oh and in the future, I may ask for your help and…" Ming began.

"Considering how we helped one another...I would be glad to come running if you were to call for me." Venusmon said.

"I am glad to hear that. But how would I…" Ming said before being handed a dove in a cage.

"This is Olive. He is a part of me. If you need me, just release him and he will come seek me out..then I will come running." Venusmon said.

"Thank you." Ming said heading out the door. "Man...the groups are never gonna believe this." she said happily.


	8. Final Mix

"Oh man… Science final is tomorrow?" Eijiro said.

"You guys have known about it for weeks. What exactly have you been doing?" Leonora asked them.

"They've probably been goofing off." Soul said.

"What about you? We haven't seen you studying." Denki said.

"Heh. Studying is for chumps too slow to do an easy way out. Me...I got a system." Soul said.

"Let me guess, you have the answers in your headband again?" Maka asked.

"Nope...my entire body is covered in cheat sheets. You gotta work smarter, not harder." Soul said.

"No one likes a showoff you know." Ruenheid said.

"Hey...you all just enjoy the test by studying all night while I take knowledge in the fact...I'm gonna easily pass tomorrow." Soul said.

"By the way Ming, can I just say that we're jealous of you? You got to talk to Venusmon, the Goddess of Love and Virtue." Hope said.

"I was looking for a way to get David to notice my affections, and it just led to all of that. I didn't expect the turn of events at all." Ming said.

"Well we're glad everything turned out well." Kohaku said.

"So guys, did you hear the news Sissi gave me and Odd yet?" Ulrich asked.

"When does Sissi ever give news worth listening to?" Lacy asked.

"Rarely probably." Lin said.

"About that party that's gonna be thrown in the gymnasium. Yeah, I've heard about that." Kaede said.

"I'm actually surprised Sissi managed that. Then again, her dad is the Principal of the school." Hope said. "Wait, you can't have a party without music. Who's gonna be the DJ?"

"Doesn't matter. No attending if we don't pass." Eijiro said.

"Well that means we have to study hard unlike "Mr. Cool" here. If we want to go." Aluche said referring to Soul.

"You'd best Keep an Eye on Black Star too, Tsubaki." Maka said. "Wouldn't want him to experience another painful lesson in stealing the test answers like with Professor Stein."

"I guess it wasn't pretty huh?" Lin asked.

"They bombed it...hard." Maka said.

"Like people always say. "Cheaters never win"." Simon quoted.

"Amen to that, good sir." Francisca said.

"You people have no idea what you're talking about." Soul said.

The next day…

During the finals, Soul was standing in front of the class in his underwear as his clothes were confiscated.

"You sure this is all of them?" Vector asked.

"Why? You want my underwear too?" Soul shouted.

"Just take your seat." Vector said as Soul returned.

"Like I said." Simon whispered to himself.

"(Idiot)". Ruenheid thought.

"(Oh brother)". Maka thought as she sweatdropped.

"Is it just me, or does this seem incredibly familiar?" Liz asked.

"It is. This happened back at the DWMA too…" Tsubaki said.

"(Type to never learn his lesson. Got it.)" David thought. "(Oh… Oh man… I'm so nervous! Science was never one of my best subjects.)"

"Just be cool, okay? It's only a test, don't take it like he's doing it." Hope said pointing to Soul who was just losing his mind.

"No talking during the test." Vector said smacking Hope's hand. "Sorry...I don't enjoy this." he whispered.

"Okay...just gotta focus." David thought. "Can't end up doing that." he said looking at Odd folding his test into a swan.

"Well done Odd, that's one of your best yet." Jim commented as he collected the finished tests.

"Really?" Izuku asked.

Meanwhile, as Jim was taking the tests with him to the Lockers, the all too familiar sight of XANA's miasma creeped its way out of a socket as it surged into him as the eye of XANA appeared in his eyes. And in the Desert Sector, a tower was indeed active as a Megatank rolled its way in, primed to guard the tower.

Later that Night….

"Phew. Glad that's over.' Eijiro said.

"Even though you know you failed?" Jexi asked.

"Yeah." he said. "Sucks. I wanted to see Aelita DJ."

"Seriously, Eijiro. What's with you and flunking exams?" David asked.

"What about you? I suppose you've passed?" Mayumi asked.

"Yeah, but barely." David said.

"We all tried our hardest and that's what matters, right?" Lilianna asked.

"Yeah, but Dave's right. The more exams I flunk, the more reasons that Monoma guy is gonna have for laughing at me." Eijiro said.

"Yeah, he'd do that." Shiozaki said.

"Hey, don't worry about it." Kendo said. "I'll take care of Monoma if he gets in your face."

"She's good at it too. I saw her take him out with one chop to the back of the neck." Izuku mentioned.

"Yeah, she always seems to be the one keeping him in line." Ochako said.

"I guess this Monoma is one of those annoying self centered types?" Lin asked.

"Not really. He just wants to edge out Class 1-A." Hope said. "Heaven knows….why." he said peeking out the window to see Jim carrying Aelita. "XANA! We got trouble! We gotta move!" he said as they charged out only to be blocked by a flock of pigeon like birds along with Unfezant and Tropius.

"Afraid you aren't going anywhere." Tropius said.

"Oh great…" Eijiro said.

"Wait a minute, Tropius doesn't even fly, whys he a Flying Ace?" Soul asked.

"Tropius is a Grass and Flying type, ya no knowledge idiot." one Pidove shouted.

"Hate to take their side, Soul, but they have a point." David said.

"And for the record, I can fly." Tropius said flapping its wings as it took to the air.

"I honestly could never tell you were able to, what with that big body of yours." Hope said.

"They say the same about bees yet they fly. Now let's tear out their eyes!" Unfezant said as the troops flocked them.

"They're all over us!" Hope said.

"PDEE BARMA!" Simon chanted as he danced and summoned Madama Butterfly as she blew the troops away before disappearing.

"Nice thinking, Simon!" Eijiro said.

"Too bad you forgot us! Bullet Seed!" Tropius said firing seeds.

"Air Cutter!" Unfezant said sending cutting waves.

"Oh no ya don't! Maka, let's get in there!" Soul said transforming into his Scythe form and deflecting the attacks.

"Nicely done. Flare Shot!" Lin called out as she fired a flame imbued bullet at Tropius.

"I've got you!" Unfezant said blowing the bullet away.

"Thank you. Now...Sunny Day!" Tropius said making the sun rise early.

"You just made a big mistake." Flamberge said.

"I doubt it...Now...Solarbeam!" He said firing a beam of light.

"Oh, it was a mistake!" Flamberge said drawing her sword and deflecting the beam. "I'm Fire too! SO that means Sunny Day charges me up!"

"Can we count on you, Maka and Soul to take on these guys?" Ulrich asked.

"Sure! Just leave it to us!" Flamberge said.

"How could you not know that Fire attacks are more powerful with Sunny Day?" Unfezant asked.

"I would have to agree. The risk-reward wasn't in your favor there." Flamberge said.

"Catch up with us when you can, alright?" Zan asked.

"You got it, sis!" Flamberge said as the two ran ahead. "Big bird's mine. You two can take Unfezant, okay?"

"Hard to do considering you already took him out with his own beam." Maka said looking at the fallen Tropius. Maka then spun Soul around. "But we can take Unfezant. It's been a while, after all. Let's go, Soul!"

"Just say the word, Maka!" Soul said.

"Let's go!" she said as Soul's blade grew incredibly large.

"Not good." Unfezant thought as he tried to fly away.

"Genie...Hunter!" she shouted slashing through him taking him out with one shot.

"We still got it." Soul said.

"And with this...that makes eight of them defeated." Maka said.

"Hopefully the others have already saved Aelita." Flamberge said before they heard wings flapping as a large bird with a colorful mane landed before them. "And who might you be?"

"Pidgeot. Are you...the Dimensional Heroes?" He asked.

"Yes...that's us." Maka said.

"I'll make it perfectly clear...I would like to ask in your assistance." Pidgeot said.

"Assistance? For what?" Flamberge asked.

"Taking Avia." Pidgeot said.

The three of them was stunned as the RTTP went into effect.


	9. Missing Link! Battle for Avia!

Aboard the Sunny...

"Why does a Pidgeot need our help to take down the Avia?" Al asked.

"Avia has a lot of Flying-type Pokemon, so we're gonna need people that can strike airborne targets." Rantaro said.

"Count me and Camilla in." Lin said.

"King, Gowther, you're on this one." Ty said.

"Ahem...are you people normally this rude to guests or is it just those people?" Pidgeot asked.

"Oh, sorry. So uh… you want to overthrow Rufflet? Why? You're one of them." Nana said before Pidgeot whacked her with his wing.

"This isn't a matter of us or them. It's a matter of protecting what's important. For me...it's the young girl they have in their dungeons. Lady Skyler." Pidgeot said.

"Lady Illuma." Spade said.

"I was not aware Skyler had a perfect link or connections to the kingdoms." Illuma said.

"It's true. Our relations are secret so she would not be outcasted." Pidgeot said. "See...I've watched over her since she was but a baby. I had no clue where she came from only that she was special. I've watched over her all her life till the day came she went to learn that Color Fighting. When I learned she had been taken prisoner by Avia...well I needed to act."

"Don't worry, we'll rescue her. She's our comrade too." Ace said.

"You are brave. But you all best not be cocky. True you have taken out most of the Flying Aces, but they are still a frightening force. Currently, our bigger threats are the remaining Ace and the general Grovyle." Pidgeot said. "Though, there is something else. Recently, our forces were attacked by Viperia on the ground, so our king has ordered some security from the criminal mastermind known as Amadeus Flux." Pidgeot said.

"Ugh… That's a name I don't want to hear." David said.

"He's probably gonna be waiting in the kingdom, and have some Robot backup." Ty said.

"Actually, he has sent four robots but he himself has not appeared in the kingdom. It is said he is busy with another project." Pidgeot said.

"Okay, so we're gonna be attacking Avia, but who's gonna rescue Skyler?" Nana asked.

"I'll go get her." Connor said before he was knocked out.

"Yeah...anyone here she doesn't hate?" Celeste asked.

"I'll go. It's been a while since I've been in battle anyway." Teba said.

"In that case, I shall go as well." Vera said.

"Be cautious, all of you." Pidgeot said bringing up a picture of a floating castle with floating pieces of land. "Avia is a kingdom with no connected land. Each mass floats on its own. The only area that is stable is the castle so you will have to force your way through."

"I see. Apologies in advance when we hurt your comrades, Pidgeot." Camilla said.

"There is no need for apologies. You simply did what you could to protect each other. Any noble soul would've done the same. Besides, they don't want to admit it, but Swellow and Swanna have taken a bit of a liking to you all." Pidgeot said.

"All we did was help heal their wounds." Al said.

"Illuma, I promise you, we will rescue Skyler and bring her home safe." Lin said as she sat on her airbike.

"Now...it's time. Take to the air...all of you!" Pidgeot said as he started flying high into the sky.

"Follow him!" Pit said grabbing onto Teba as they took off.

"Why are you?" Teba asked.

"I've been to Avia before. I know my way around the castle." Pit said.

"Hop on and hold on Vera." Lin said as they took off as well.

"Understood. Here we go!" Vera said as Dark Pit took off as well.

"Huh? Pittoo?" Pit asked.

"Don't get any ideas. I'm not gonna let you take all the glory." Dark Pit said. "And it's Dark Pit to you!"

"Despite being duplicates you act like brothers in a way." Camilla said as she flew past them.

"Well, we kind of are two halves of the same person." Pit said.

"We are not related!" Dark Pit shouted.

"So...we'll just be fighting Avia while everyone below supports Team Lyoko?" Vera asked.

"Seems that way." Teba said as they broke through the clouds where they saw the vast Kingdom of Avia above.

"Prepare to break through." Pidgeot said.

"Vera, Bomb Arrow!" Lin called out.

"Coming right up." Vera said as she fired a Bomb Arrow, making a way inside.

"Nice shot!" Lin said as they entered Avia.

"We split from here. I will escort a party to the dungeons to free Skyler...the other will make their way to the throne room." Pidgeot said.

"Understood. And please...be careful." Camilla said as she pulled out her multiform rifle and put her air ride away as she headed to the throne room. "Okay...I'll just…" She said before a meteorite hit right next to her. "What?"

"Aw...I missed." a voice said. "I was aiming for her head."

"No worries...we still got a shot." Another said as two robots walked out. One with a star theme and the other with bright tubes attached to its body.

"So I am to assume you are robots?" Camilla asked as she pushed up her monocle

"I am StarMan." said the robot with a comet and star like theme.

"And I am BrightMan." Said the tube attached robot.

"Hmm. I see. And you are what's stopping me from reaching the throne room." Camilla said with a calm stature.

"We would...if the throne room was still down this way." StarMan said.

"So you moved it in order to trap me and the others correct?" Camilla asked.

"In a way. We're here to pick off the stragglers. The general and the remaining Ace wanted the honor of guarding the throne room all for themselves." BrightMan said.

"Then you wouldn't mind if you stepped aside." Camilla said.

"Funny. But...funny gets you killed. Star Arrow!" StarMan said firing a star.

"Bright Beam!" BrightMan said firing beams from his eyes.

"Tch!" Camilla grunted as she dodged before firing a laser at Brightman from her rifle. "Stun Shot!" She shouted firing a widespread bullet.

"Flash Stopper." BrightMan said making a shield that blocked the attacks easily.

"Hurricane Screw Shot!" A voice yelled out as Beelko appeared and fired bullets from her heels at the robots catching them off guard.

"Another one followed her?" StarMan said.

"I'm her partner, where she goes I follow." Beelko said as she pointed her guns at them.

"Beelko! I am relieved to see you." Camilla said as she walked up next to her. "It's time we teach these two how to treat a lady."

"Hell yeah, let's do it!" Beelko said as they took a back to back stance.

"Let's see how well they do...with less energy." BrightMan said as two plugs extended and attached to the two. "Energy Drain!" He said sucking them of energy.

"Have to stop that energy drain...Fly Bullet!" Beelko yelled as she shot a bullet that automatically home in on BrightMan's weakpoint.

"As if that will work." BrightMan said as he dodged slightly as the bullet missed. "Haha...huh?" he said as she smirked.

"Figured it out...you can't use your other attacks while draining can you?" She said surprising him. "Which means...you can't dodge forever." She said firing multiple Fly Bullets.

"No good." BrightMan thought as he tried his best to dodge. "I can't dodge them all." he thought before one hit his pack as he screamed in shock as the drainage stopped.

"Hasta la Vista...Double Claw!" Beelko said as she dashed towards BrightMan and slashed through him with the knives attached to her guns.

"Not….bright." he said before exploded.

"You little...Star Arrow!" StarMan said firing multiple stars at them.

"Beelko, Double Chase!" Camilla said.

"Right!" Beelko said as they both rapidly fired charged bullets at the arrows heading towards them before firing at StarMan.

"Ah!" StarMan shouted taking multiple hits as he stood there. "Hehehehe. You really think...you can win? As if. So...here's a fun idea...I'll bury you and every person in this castle into the ground." He said with a demented smile.

"Go to hell. You're comrades are waiting for you." Camilla said as she fired a laser straight through his chest.

"Final...attack measure activated." StarMan said smiling as a meteor broke through the roof and the ground of the castle. Camilla and Beelko looked up in shock to see thousands of meteors. "Meteor Shower!" He said before falling through the hole into the sea below.

"Beelko we have to get the others, come on!" Camilla said before seeing her ride destroyed. "No!"

"Don't worry. It'll be fine...remember who they are." Beelko said.

Meanwhile in the other part of the castle, the others were soon being stood against by Grovyle and the remaining Ace, Hawlucha.

"Well...this is unsettling." Hawlucha said seeing the meteors coming down.

"Yes. I should have known we couldn't trust that Flux and his machines. Still...even if it were raining hellfire, I would not abandon his majesty." Grovyle said.

"Don't you see what's going on here? If you really are concerned for him, you'd help him evacuate now." Vera said.

"Our king if more than capable of handling himself. Though you young lady are in dire need of rescue. What say I save your life and we get dinner, yes?" Grovyle said.

"I appreciate the offer, but there's another lady we're in desperate need of saving." Vera said.

"Ah right. The young lady in her cell. Hmm, tough choice." Grovyle said.

"Enough waiting. I came for a fight of honor!" Hawlucha said.

"Shall we?" Teba asked.

"Of course. You all head for the cells and find Skyler. We'll handle these two." Vera said.

"Of course." Pit and Dark Pit said before glaring as they ran off.

"Okay...I'll go for...the Rito!" Grovyle said rushing Teba who jumped back.

"I apologize. My general refuses to fight women. I however...will not." Hawlucha said.

"I see. Well then shall we begin?" Vera asked.

"I start with...Rock Smash." Hawlucha said running as his fist glowed.

Vera pulled back and fired some Shock Arrows at Hawlucha.

"An archer. Firing from a range is smart. But…" Hawlucha said as he grabbed one. "I am well skilled with catching arrows!"

"Damn… This could be trouble." Vera said.

"Yes...now I finish this quickly." Hawlucha said jumping above her. "Flying Press!" he said coming down quickly.

Vera took the full brunt of the attack, still standing, though taking some damage.

"Impressive stamina." he said.

"What did you expect? I wasn't planning on staying in the sidelines forever." Vera said. "I usually take the support role in battles, but now that someone else has it, I figured that it was about time I got some action. So, with Teba, I trained as hard as I can, to the point where I can fight my own battles now."

"Your conviction is impressive. But...I will finish this now." Hawlucha said taking flight once more. "One more should do it. Flying Press!"

Vera took a deep breath and prepared a somersault. "Here I come!" Vera said as she somersaulted at Hawlucha and strikes with her bow. A single, large target reticle appears around her and her target as she jumps into the air high above. "Target locked!" She said as she then appears suspended upside down in the air above, takes aim at the Hawlucha. "Your fleeting existence is at and end! Crisis Rain!" She shouts as she fires multiple arrow-shaped lasers that home in on Hawlucha.

"Well done…" Hawlucha said as he took every hit. He stood there motionlessly as Vera looked on.

"He...he passed out, standing up." Vera said surprised.

"Ha! Ha!" Grovyle said keeping close on Teba.

"Not good. He's making sure I don't get the distance to fire." Teba thought.

"Well...looks like I win." Grovyle said before a music note was flying out as it doused him with water. "What's this? One of your tricks?"

"No...but wherever it came from...I'm glad it did. Shock Arrow!" Teba said firing at the water near Grovyle's feet, electrocuting him and making him pass out.

Meanwhile, the remaining group saw a large door.

"That must be it!" Pit and Dark Pit said as they charged the door. "Don't worry! We're here to…" they said before seeing a small bird on a perch.

"What are you...why are you in my throne room?" the bird demanded.

"We came here to pick up a friend." Pit said. "She doesn't like being chained up."

"Ah...I see. Clever. You make it like you wanted to stage a rescue. But no rescuer would be dumb enough to rush a throne room. You want my throne. Very well...I will fight you for it." Rufflet said.

"You fought THIS guy? He's just a little birdie." Dark Pit said.

"Hey! He's tougher than he looks!" Pit said.

"But...I prefer to fight...in my element." he said pulling a chain as the floor gave out revealing open sky.

"Ah crap." Pit said as the two fell through.

"Do I have to do everything? Gus, unlock deck 7." Dark Pit said on his comm. Down below, something was opened as something else rushed out. Before the two fell, they landed in a structure.

"Wait...this is…' Pit said seeing it was a chariot pulled by two horses.

"The Lightning Chariot." Dark Pit said. "Did you forget...I took it last time we met."

"You had it all this time on the Cavalier and you didn't bother to tell me?" Pit asked.

"Shut up. If we're going to win, we need to work together." Dark Pit said.

"If only more rivalries can be like that." Pit said.

"Keep talking like that, I'll be happy to kick you off right now." Dark Pit said before seeing Rufflet. "There he is." he said drawing his bow as the two were firing arrows after it.

"Wow...they're actually keeping close." Rufflet said. "Quite impressive. But let's see if they can counter this! My Wing Attack!" Rufflet said flying right at them.

"Seems kinda unfair taking him down in this." Pit said before looking up at the meteors. "Second thought, I'm over it.' he said as they charged for a final clash.

The two sides charged at one another before the two angels laid on a powerful strike as Rufflet fell. Before he could fall out of the sky, Pit grabbed him.

"I...have been bested. The throne is yours." Rufflet said.

"I want all prisoners released and for you to join the kingdom of Aurora." Pit said.

"Very well...I will recall all troops and leave." Rufflet said.

"Many thanks to you both for freeing us." A male voice said from one of the cells.

"And who would you be?" Dark Pit asked.

"My name is Veigue." Veigue said as he stepped out of the cell along with a blonde haired swordsman, a girl in pink with a hammer, and a black haired male in oriental like clothing while Veigue held Skyler bridal style in his arms. "Don't worry, she's only unconscious."

"Let me just say this… I do NOT like getting snached by a ghost lady in a box and thrown into a dungeon against my will." The blonde said.

"Hey, come on! We're out aren't we? Thanks to these two, right Ren?" The girl bubbly said.

"Yes. Thank you." The black haired male said.

"So, you're Ruby's friends aren't you?" Pit asked.

"They are. I recognize them from the pictures. Jaune Arc, Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie. Now..let's say we get outta here." Dark Pit said.

"We can take the Lightning Chariot." Pit said. "Let's get going. Wait, wasn't there supposed to be someone else with you?"

"No...it was just us three." Jaune said.

"Pit! Dark Pit!" A voice called out as Camilla and Beelko ran up to them with Vera, Teba and Lin.

"Guys! We have the prisoners! Quick! Onto the chariot!" Pit said.

"We gotta go, the castle's coming down!" Beelko said.

"Vera, Camilla, hop on!" Lin said.

"I got these three!" Beelko said as she picked up Jaune, Ren, and Nora.

"You...you know you don't need to do that right?" Dark Pit said.

"Well it didn't look like there was enough room in the Lightning Chariot so I thought…:" Beelko started.

"Can we have this conversation later? Preferably when the land isn't crumbling beneath our feet?" Pit asked.

"Oh yeah, RUN!" Camilla called out.

The group flew out of the castle as it fell to the ocean in ruins.

"The castle...gone." Rufflet said. "Well...nothing lost. Just land."

"I'm just glad we managed to escape including your subjects sir." Lin said to Rufflet.

"So what will you do now?" Pit asked.

"We will take off to the skies and look for new land. One where we can rebuild the kingdom." Rufflet said.

"I pray for your success, your Majesty." Camilla said.

"Yes. Yours as well. Troops...we leave!" Rufflet said flying off with the Avian soldiers and residence.

"I hope things turn out well for them in the future. What about you Pidgeot?" Lin said.

"As I am fated to protect Skyler, I will of course stay close by.' Pidgeot said.

"Very well. I will leave her in your care when we land soon." Veigue said.

"I know for a fact that Ruby will be more than happy to see us again." Jaune said.

"You got that right!" Nora said happily.

"Indeed." Ren said.

"Wish I could say the same thing with Penny. I think that ghost lady split you…" Pit began.

"She was never with us." Jaune said.

'Huh?" Pit said.

"While it was true Penny was a member of the Coalition, she did not choose to go with us after it collapsed. She went her own path." Ren said.

"Well, Ruby is still holding on to the hope that she'll see her again." Vera said.

"Hey, there's the Sunny." Lin said.

"Wooooooow!" Nora said. "That ship is a Sunflower!"

"Nora… I'm pretty sure that's a Lion." Ren said.

"It's called the Thousand Sunny. It's our ship. And since you have nowhere to go after what has happened, I would like to ask...care to join us?" Jexi asked.

"Well, Ruby and the others are here, aren't they? So that answer is easy, I'm in!" Jaune said. "Ren, Nora, you guys don't wanna pass this up, were gonna be staying on a Pirate Ship!"

"As long as there's pancakes, I'm in!" Nora said.

"I will join as well. We are glad to see you and the others again, Ruby." Ren said.

"Glad to finally have you here!" Ruby said.

"What about you, Veigue? You got a team preference?" Pit asked.

"Hmm...I shall join the young Nephilim's group. I sense there is hidden potential in their leader. But first." Veigue said before walking up to the Freedom Seekers with Skyler unconscious. "Here, don't worry, your comrade is safe."

"We thank you." Illuma said taking her.

"It is no trouble at all." Veigue said before walking away.

"So that's Veigue from Tales of Rebirth, huh?" David asked as he observed him.

"I see you are observing me. Although, I sense a familiarity in you almost as if we share the same fighting style." Veigue said.

"You can put it that way. You can say that you were sort of an...inspiration." David said.

"Interesting. I hope to spar with you someday in the future." Veigue said with a smirk.

"So...what happened while we were in the sky?" Pit asked.

"Eh...not much. Yumi lost her code but we got it back." Jexi said.

"Wait, code? Where exactly are we?" Jaune asked.

"It's a lot to explain. Honestly, I don't know where to begin." Sectonia said.

"We have good news. Two of the robots have been destroyed." Camilla said.

"Yes...though...when I fought Grovyle...an attack went and weakened him." Teba said.

"The one called StarMan used a meteor shower as a last resort. He even had a demented smile on his face before falling into the ocean." Beelko said.

"Grovyle being weakened did happen before, but not the meteor shower." Sanji said.

"It is a redux. Things do happen differently." Jexi said.

"As for who did the weakening...it's likely that they are on this world too." MegaMan said.

"Right. Team Colonel." Kirito said.

"Who on that team is able to fight with elemental music notes?" Teba asked.

"Definitely ToadMan." Wendy said.

"Hmm… Yeah. He may be the team's medic, but he's also the ranged attacker. He could definitely pull something like that off." Rainbow said.

"Well, RWBY got their friends back, Skyler was saved, and we got a new teammate. I think things turned out pretty well today, right?" Ace said.

"Not for all of us. Ulrich had to go to the Subsonics concert with Sissi to make up for the ploy they had while Yumi was trapped on Lyoko." David said.

"Mostly well then. We'll just wait and be ready for what tomorrow brings." Ace said.

"Yeah...hopefully with better results." Jexi said.


	10. The Chips are Down

Early in the morning, David was outside of his ship, looking up at the sky.

"You alright, David?" A voice asked as Ace walked up to him.

"Yeah… Just thinking about the past. Ace, you remember what your brother said as we were healing Swellow and Swanna, right?" David asked.

"About how you may have to use force if you aren't able to settle conflicts peacefully? It's bothering you huh?" Ace asked. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah. It kind of made me think about a certain point in time I just couldn't get out of my head." David said.

"Someday something like that may happen in the future but maybe not for a long time. If worse comes to worse, don't forget everyone is there to help shoulder the burden." Ace said. "Though it may sound weird coming from me who used to be emotional all the time."

"Yeah. You have heard about this dimension where Superman killed the Joker and turned his world into a dystopia, right?" David asked.

"Yeah. He was put in jail after another Superman appeared and put an end to his reign of terror. I've heard about that yeah." Ace said.

"Ace… I, along with our dimension's Wonder Woman...were the ones that got the Regime's Wonder Woman exiled from Themyscira." David said.

"I'm not mad or anything. I know you may have to face Regime Wonder Woman in the future. Just don't forget we'll be there to help you if things aren't settled peacefully." Ace said.

"As much as I appreciate the gesture, that's not really what I was thinking about." David said.

"Well, what are you trying to say?" Ace asked.

"When we went to that dimension again, I was forced to team up with that Wonder Woman for a time. I thought that being the good guy again would get her to slow her roll a bit, but it ended up having the opposite effect. She was so stubborn in her attempts to get the Regime back up and running that she didn't care who she hurt...or killed. And then there's Cheetah, the third factor in the equation." David said.

"I think I get what you are saying a bit. Wonder Woman craved power and didn't care if people died or who she killed. But Cheetah is honorable and only seeks to fight you as rivals. Did I get a bit on point from that?" Ace asked.

"I wouldn't say honorable, but yeah. She seems more human compared to Wonder Woman now, and that's saying something. But… I feel as though there's been a void left in her heart ever since I defeated Wonder Woman again and sent her off to Universal Prison. Our duel in the IG-3 confirms this. She comes at me because I knocked the sole reason for her being off the equation." David said.

"I see. Since you took down Wonder Woman, Cheetah sees you as a bigger challenge." Ace said.

"I guess you can put it that way. But it makes me wonder… Do you think things would've been better between the three of us...if I had just kept my nose out of Themyscira?" David asked.

"I wouldn't be sure how to answer that, even if you made a different choice, it could've had the same result. I'm sorry, I'm not really good at giving explanations that much." Ace said.

"I figured as much. I guess Spade was right. Some bouts just can't be avoided." David said.

"David...I'm sorry." Ace said.

"There's no need for you to apologize. Heck, I should be the one apologizing for drowning you in my personal problems." David said.

"It's alright. I'm glad you shared that with me. Honestly, I kinda feel the same way a bit." Ace said.

"Yeah, but I still can't shake off the fact that the whole thing was my fault." David said.

"David! Whatever happened, happened. I know forgetting the past is hard, but there's a future out there waiting for us. Me, Sectonia, Jexi, Hope, Connor, my brothers, and everyone else believe in you. So don't forget that we're with you all the way." Ace said. "I may have lost my parents, but I was able to see you and the others as family. Nothing will change that. Just remember...everyone is here with you whether you're far away or really close, we're right here." He said poking where David's heart is as he teared up a bit. "Remember this?" Ace asked as he pulled out a picture of their group photo in Valentia.

"How can I forget that? That was where we first met." David said.

"Yup. Hard to believe how much has changed over time, huh?" Ace asked putting an arm around David's shoulder. "All the worlds we visited and the people we met, those experiences made us stronger and who we are right now." He said laughing a bit as he pulled out his pendant.

"You got that right. And don't worry about my behavior. I'm only like this when I feel that I'm about to face Cheetah again soon. The weight of the responsibility of my actions, you know what I mean?" David asked.

"Yeah." Ace said. "Glad to know you still have that serious and friendly personality. David?"

"Yep. We all have our own burdens to bear. It's just a matter of how we bear them." David said.

"Don't ever change." Ace said. "When the time comes to face Centurion, we'll be counting on you."

"Right. And thanks for talking about this with me. It really helped a lot." David said.

"It's no problem. Can I ask you something?" Ace asked.

"Sure. What is it?" David asked.

"How surprised were you when you found out about me and my brothers origins? I'm sorry in advance if it sounds selfish. I just wanted to ask that's all." Ace said.

"Honestly, very. I mean, I know that you were definitely unordinary, but I didn't think you'd actually be royalty." David said.

"I guess you know what two of the titans did as well, huh?" Ace asked.

"Yeah. I know that they wanted to take out the Olympos XII so that no one could stop them from their goal, but damn. Suffering really tends to strike a chord for me." David said.

"Yeah. But I'm just glad we all have each other's back." Ace said. "Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do." David said.

"Alright." Ace said. "Oh yeah, did Jexi show you the flier for the Multiverse EX Grand Prix?"

"He did. Miu said she's going to make Extreme Gears for my team after the redux is finished, but...I still don't know who to pick out." David said.

"We got plenty of time. So take your time picking your best racers. And the Extreme Gears are also handy to get around. Camilla's Air Ride is under maintenance right now, so it should be ready soon. I know Mari may come off as overdoing it, but she has been a great help, she sent you materials to fix up Fulgore, she made clothes for the Aselia and Xillia groups and Crystal Knights along with Kor, Kohaku, and Hisui. So she's a great ally to have with us if we're ever in a jam." Ace said.

"Yeah, she sure is." David said.

"Oh right. I want to show you something, me and Vargas have been practicing a bit while we were on our way to the Mushroom Kingdom to meet up with you guys." Ace said. "Carnage Form: Dandelga!" He yelled as he glowed a red aura and his clothes changed into a modernized version of Vargas's as a tattoo of a red fire symbol appeared on his cheek and his eyes glowed red while holding Dandelga in his hands and his hair was colored in the style of a fire. "Sorry. Was it too much?"

"A little, but I still think it's really cool. It's like your own Armatization." David said.

"Yeah. So far this is the only form I have since the other reincarnated Eidolons were scattered. But we'll find them soon." Ace said as he reverted back. "So, I guess the others aren't up yet besides Tsuki. Anything going on today?"

"Not really, but I did hear something concerning Yumi." David said.

"What happened?" Ace asked.

David was silent before he took a deep breath. "Her father lost his job, and...her family might be moving back to Japan."

"Oh no. This can't be good, especially for Ulrich and the rest of Team Lyoko." Ace said.

"Ulrich is doing everything he can to make sure Yumi stays, but… So far, his efforts are not amounting to much. At this rate, I fear he might do something desperate." David said.

"*Sigh* I just hope he doesn't do anything stupid." Ace said before he and David saw Jexi and Hope approach. "Hey. Mornin'."

"Morning. So...I take it you heard the news about Yumi too, right?" Jexi asked.

"Yeah. I wish there was something we could do to help. But that may be impossible." Ace said.

"No matter how you look at it, the only way one can keep things normal is if they had a lot of money. So unless her father gets another job or somehow wins the lottery, there is no chance of her staying." Jexi said.

"Yeah. Guess we just wait and see what happens." Ace said.

"Yeah. We just gotta hope something good happens." Hope said.

"Shh. Quiet you mugs." a voice said as Vector sat there on the dock. "I know you guys are having a heart to heart but I'm trying to hear the numbers and you guys got the only working radio."

"Well plug your headphones into it and maybe you'll hear better." Kagura said.

"They don't plug in. Now quiet." Vector said.

"And those lucky numbers are...6...22...10...47...13...37...and the last number is….14." an announcer said.

"Let's see. I...Oh god. I won. I actually won!" Vector shouted. "Thirty million baby!"

"30 million? Wait, Vector, can I see that ticket?" Gemini asked.

"No way! I'm not giving up my one and only meal ticket." Vector said. "Sure, I give you the ticket, then the next thing I know, something awful happens. Well, I got news for…" He said before a dome of light engulfed the area.

"What just happened?" Hope asked.

"We went back in time. But why did a RTTP occur? Isn't XANA blocked from using it?" Ace asked.

"I was afraid of this… Ulrich must've listened in on the lottery too." David said.

"So you're saying that Ulrich initiated the RTTP so that he can give the copied ticket to Yumi's family?" Sectonia asked.

"Copied? Please. It's one of a kind and I got it right…" Vector said before seeing his hand empty. "Ah crap! I gotta go!" He said running off.

"Ulrich should at least understand that launching the RTTP makes XANA stronger. I know he was trying to help Yumi, but still." Arnice said.

"I sometimes question what a man's judgement is capable of when in love." Hope said. "I sometimes even wonder the status of their relationship."

"It's...complicated right now." Ruby said.

It was later that evening Vector returned broken hearted.

"Did you get the ticket?" Jaune asked.

"Does it look like I got the ticket? Ulrich went and beat me to it." Vector said.

"So he gets the 30 million. Anyone got a guess on what he's gonna do with it?" Ejiro asked.

"No...I don't think he would hold onto the ticket. He would likely give the ticket to Yumi's family before the call." Yaoyorozu said.

"So their family would get the money, not Ulrich. Make it seem like they were the winners." Izuku said.

"All this just so Yumi wouldn't have to leave for Japan? Isn't this a little drastic?" David said. "I mean, I know I'd do anything for Sectonia… Well, not literally anything. There are some lines that I don't cross."

"Well she is an important member of Team Lyoko and the Dimensional Heroes, Ulrich could've at least told us before doing something like that." Roy said.

"No he wouldn't. Because if he did, the others would press us sooner or later and we'd tell them." Francisca said.

"But it's all for not. I know Yumi and her family. No way they would keep that money." Nami said. "She'd likely give it back to Ulrich after he would be kicked out."

"As much as I disagree with that notion, there are some lines that shouldn't be crossed." David said. "Initiating a RTTP without authorization is one of them, noble act or not."

"If only there was some way we can help mend this situation." Ming said.

"Yeah...but I'm not sure there is much we can do in this situation." Sora said.

"Let's see what happens when we go to school tomorrow." Ruenheid said.

"Uh...maybe we should make that...today." Lacy said pointing as large rocks were falling to the ground. They opened to reveal floating rock creatures and boulder creatures.

"And who, may we ask, is gracing us with their presence?" Petra asked.

"Sorry about her. We just had a rough discovery with a few of our members." David said.

"We are the Rolling Rock Squad of Cragspur! We're here to conquer this town." one Geodude said.

"So, Cragspur finally wants to get in on the action." Hope said.

"Sorry, but this town is under our protection. If you want it, you'll have to go through us." Saki said as she cracked her knuckles.

They all looked at one another before laughing.

"You think your puny little doll hands can crack our rocky exteriors? Go right ahead." A Graveler said.

"Suit yourself. Don't say I didn't warn you. Cha!" Saki yelled as she grabbed a Geodude and repeatedly slammed him onto the ground before sending him flying. "What was that about doll hands?"

"Holy…!" Gemini said.

"Saki, can I ask how you're so strong to literally smash a Geodude repeatedly?" Zephyr asked.

"Being a Baneful has its perks for granting enhanced strength and agility, especially when it comes to fighting hordes of undead." Saki said as she tightened her gloves. "I also wrestled back home. Just because I'm little and a girl doesn't mean I'm weak. Even pretty roses have thorns."

"That has to be the stupidest explanation we ever heard." Graveler said.

"Scram back to your leader, rockhead!" Saki said as she sent the rest of them flying. "Damn, that was annoying."

"Well, you made that annoyance go away." Hope said.

"We'll be back you know...with reinforcements!" One of the Geodude shouted as they flew.

"Glad that's over. So what now?" Saki asked.

"Well since Ulrich's gonna be kicked out, XANA's probably already seen this as an opportunity." Sakura said.

"I think he already has taken it." Jack said pointing ahead to Team Lyoko already running into the factory.

"Without Ulrich, we can't take any chances. We should move it too." Kaito said.

"Right." Hope said.

"Saki, you go with Gemini and Kaito. We need to fill in for Ulrich." Ty said.

"Got it. See you guys later, let's go." Saki said as the three headed to the scanners. The three soon arrived in the desert sector. But upon their arrival, they were surprised to see most of it covered in oil.

"Oil?" Gemini asked.

"Well...looks like we have more enemies of Flux." A voice said as a robot with an orange scarf and black head stood there. "I'm as slick as always with this."

"You must be of Gospel, right?" Saki said as she reached for her sword.

"OilMan of course. And I work for Mr. Flux." He said. "And you just got caught in a trap. An oil trap!" He said.

"Gemini use your fire attacks, it should help burn the oil." Saki said.

"And us with it." Gemini said.

"You guys should back up the others. I'll handle this." Kaito said.

"Alright, we'll leave it to you. Let's go Gemini." Saki said as they ran on ahead.

"Ha...this is way too easy. Burning away those two chumps." OilMan said getting a match. "Now...it's Heroes Flambe." he said before a punch nailed him. "The heck? When did…" He said before seeing Kaito floating above him.

"Surprised? I'd rather die before you lay a hand on my friends! ...Well, technically I already died, but...you get my drift!" Kaito said. "All that needs to be said is, you won't get past Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars!"

"But...humans can't fly!" OilMan said.

"My law...Law of the Galaxy. I can alter the physics of the planet but only around me." Kaito said.

"Heh. Not bad...but I'll beat you so hard, you'll be smelling oil on yourself for months! Oil Shot!" OilMan said firing oil at Kaito.

"If you're not careful, you'll be the one seeing stars." Kaito said. "Let's start with...Punch of the Luminary of the Stars!" He said sending OilMan flying and sliding.

"Dang...that smarts." OilMan said.

"Now...get lost. Kick of the Luminary of the Stars!" He said delivering a kick to OilMan and sending him flying far away. "And another victory for the Luminary of the Stars!" He said as he saw the distant tower turn blue. "Just in time too. Guess that means Ulrich made things right again."

Later on the ship…

"Look..I am sorry for what happened. But...I've made things right." Ulrich said.

"Wonderful. Now just give me the money and all will be good." Vector said.

"Sorry, its all gone." Ulrich said.

""Huh?!" Vector said. "Where'd it go?"

"I donated it to a charity that digs wells in Africa." Ulrich said.

"Such a noble cause. Atua graces your sincere heart." Angie said.

"Good choice dude. You did the right thing." Kor said.

"But that still means Yumi and her family have to move out." Gemini said.

"Not anymore." Shouted Starlight as she ran to the ship. "I just got word. Yumi's father got a new job. And it's here in town!"

"So she's not moving. That's a relief." Jexi said.

"I'll say." Hope said.

"Yeah." Ace said.

"Yeah...it's all and well for you guys...except me who lost 30 million bucks!" Vector said as he cried.

"Grow up." Tear said.

"I might not be as harsh as Tear, but real men shouldn't shed tears like this." Kaito said.

"You're a pretty bad gambler yourself, Kaito." Shuichi said.

"D-don't remind me!" Kaito said, flustered.

"Well...only one thing to do...buy every lottery ticket I can and hope another is a winner." Vector said running off.

"Oh brother. Does somebody wanna go after him or just leave him be?" Simon asked.

"Let him go. He barely wins anything anyway." Symonne said.

"Yeah...I mean...it was luck he won the lottery. He won't see a win like that again for years." Charmy said.

"Heh. Also, it seems like we'll be dealing with another kingdom for the next few days. But we'll be ready." Aya said.

"Let's just see how the days go." Weiss said.


	11. Marabounta

As the day soon began, unaware to the crew on the Sunny, Team Lyoko wasn't the only people who were in a redux. Inside the ship was a lone cellphone that kept shaking before a familiar little creature flew out. This was Rotom.

"I'm free! Free! Rororororo! Now...I'm free of that stupid cell phone. Now...to get my revenge on the Dimensional Heroes for my humiliating defeat...as soon as I figure out how." Rotom said before he flew out of the ship.

Meanwhile…

"The Marabounta?" Hope said.

"Yes. It's something discussed in Franz Hopper's notes. It's a multi agent program similar to XANA but it acts on the principles of how ants behave. It's basically millions of smaller programs working together to accomplish a goal." Jeremie said.

"Ah yes. Like Marabounta, in short, a large colony of ants that act as one." Twilight said.

"Yes...and I plan to test it out this afternoon." Jeremie said.

"Alright. Did you want us to meet you at the factory later?" Aluche asked.

"I only need three people to witness on Lyoko. Aelita and Odd have already said yes to it." Jeremie said.

"Alright. I'll do it. It's not like I have anything better to do today anyway." David said.

"Prepare to be absolutely amazed." Odd said.

"Are you sure it's okay for Aelita to be in on this?" David asked.

"Don't worry. I can pull her out if anything goes wrong." Jeremie said. "Just as well, I can easily kill the program if things go hectic."

"I hope you're right." Hope said.

In Lyoko, Aelita, David and Odd stood in the forest sector. Just as they head arrived, they started running down the platform before they saw a large black mass as it went after a large horde of monsters.

"I gotta say...Einstein's created a real piece of work this time." Odd said seeing it overwhelm the monsters with ease. Unaware to them, they were being watched by Rotom.

"Incredible. Such a destructive program. Hmm. This might actually work for me." Rotom thought. "I like it and I'm going with it." he said zooming towards the heart and entered as it turned orange. "Hehehe. Okay. Here's your new mission. Those three...go and get them." he said as the Marabounta was turning its attention to David, Odd and Aelita.

"Uh, Jeremie… We've got a bit of a problem here." David said. "It's Rotom! He's infected the Marabounta!"

"No way! Hold on. I'll try to kill it." Jeremie said before seeing an error. "No! He's destroyed the kill code. I can't get rid of it."

"Only one option left, we just have to take it out the old fashioned way." Odd said.

"Don't be stupid, Odd. Attacks won't do anything to the incoming Marabounta. Your best choice is to run. All of you." Jeremie said.

"Roger that. Exit stage left!" David said.

"Rororororo! Run all you want, Dimensional Heroes! But I will not stop until I destroy you all! Heck...how about for fun...I figure out how to bring this thing to the real world. I could conquer a lot of worlds with this." Rotom said.

"We can't run forever. Eventually, this program will end up engulfing the entire forest sector." Aelita said.

"Man, that Rotom is a creepy little virus." David said.

"Wait a minute… Virus! David, you just gave me an idea! I can't disable the Marabounta...but I can create something to stop it. A virus designed to specifically kill the Marabounta." Jeremie said. "But I'll need time to make it."

"We'll manage for as long as we can." David said.

"I'll see about contacting the others. To try and get some back up for you three." Jeremie said.

"Alright, but I wouldn't bank too much on Ulrich. He's been kind of sour lately." David said.

"Cause he embarrassed himself at the pool or so I hear." Jeremie said. "Hang on. I just got word. Gajeel, Nora and Ryu are on their way."

"Okay...in the meantime...we'll keep fighting." Odd said firing arrows at the Marabounta, although it isn't that effective.

"Come on…" David said before laser shots were fired. "What the?" He said before seeing the monsters behind them firing at the Marabounta with CutMan and MagnetMan joining them in the attack.

"What's going on here?" Odd asked.

"XANA's monsters and Gospel are providing backup. They can't afford to let Aelita die." Jeremie said.

"Well duh. If she goes, our plan's up in smoke." MagnetMan said.

"That's why for this time only...we're cutting in." CutMan said.

"Nice one." David said. "I gotta make a note of that."

"And they aren't the only ones. I just virtualized Gajeel, Nora and Ryu." Jeremie said as those three appeared.

"Of course it's you." Gajeel said.

"You! I haven't forgotten you. You're the reason I ended up here!" Rotom said.

"Who's the orange?" Nora asked.

"Rotom, former general of the Ghost Kingdom, Spectra. I kicked the crap outta him all over Future City." Gajeel said.

"Betcha he's the one controlling the Marabounta." Ryu said as he shifted into dragon form.

"That's right. And Ryu… I don't think you should transform. Switching to dragon mode risks a bigger chance of the Marabounta getting you."

"Now listen. I've inserted a virus into one of David's bullets. If he can hit that sphere, the whole colony will be infected. But it will only work if he hits the main sphere, the one Rotom possessed." Jeremie said.

"And where's that?" Odd asked.

"At the heart of the Marabounta." Jeremie said.

"And how am I supposed to get there, on a camel's back?" David asked.

"Allow me." Ryu said before he roared and unleashed a large laser as it cleared a path.

"Eat this, you black… ball thing!" Nora said switching her hammer to her Grenade Launcher mode and fired repeatedly at the Marabounta.

"Those attacks won't lay a dent in it." Gajeel said. "So...let's try something different." Gajeel said grabbing David. "Get over there, you ice for brains demon hunter!" He shouted before launching him.

David was holding on to his hat with one hand as he aimed his gun at the Marabounta. "You've just been deleted." David said as he shot a bullet at the sphere.

"Haha! And what was...whoa. Suddenly not feeling so hot. Gotta go." Rotom said morphing out of the sphere before it and the rest of the Marabounta collapsed. "No! My army! This isn't over!" he said before zooming to a nearby tower and porting out.

"Whew… That was pretty rough." David said. "Jeremie...how are things?"

"Looks like that did it. All traces of the Marabounta has been eliminated. But I'm not getting any reading of Rotom on Lyoko. He's likely already long gone." Jeremie said.

"I'd bet he is. Still, I have a feeling that won't be the last unlikely alliance we'll end up in." David said.

"I'm still surprised. I mean, he's a little guy yet he was able to cause so much damage." Nora said.

"Guess you should never judge a book by its cover when it comes to stuff like this." Ryu said.

It was later the group reconvined back at Kadic where some shocking news was revealed.

"Flux is in the hospital?" Hope asked.

"Yes. Apparently he was mauled by a bear in the woods." Yusuke said.

"A bear? That's ridiculous!" Ming said.

"Actually there are bears in those woods. Chopper, Yosuke and even Teddie saw them once. And Ruby chased one off." Wendy said. "Though...it doesn't make sense. Last time...the reason he went into those woods were for Latias and Latios. But...they didn't even appear this time. So...why did he go in?"

"Like Jexi said, some of the events are different during a redux." Simon said.

"If that's true, then who or what was he looking for?" Sectonia asked.

"We'd ask him in the hospital but he's stuck in a coma for awhile I'm afraid." Fluttershy said.

"Well at least we won't have to worry about him for a while. But still...It's got me curious." David said.

As the group talked, they were unaware of Rotom spying on them.

"There they are. Now...all to do now is enter one of their cellphones and wait." He said launching himself into a random cellphone. "Ha! There they are. Enjoy your peace but I swear I shall...wait...how can I be able to see them all? No sense what so...unless….aw dammit!" He shouted as it was shown he was in Sissi's phone now.


	12. Common Interest

On the Sunny...

"I guess you guys heard on the radio about how Peter Duncan escaped from a police transport vehicle without any outside help, right?" Aya asked.

"Afraid that last part isn't true. Some of the police were able to describe a robot with a pair of scissors on its head. Sound familiar?" Sunset said.

"CutMan. Do you think XANA is involved perhaps?" Reala asked.

"I would like to think so, but this Duncan guy hasn't even done anything too major." Lacy said.

"What if XANA plans on possessing Peter for something? Maybe that's why CutMan cut him loose." Kagura said.

"Ha! I thought that last cut pun was cool." David said.

"Well, we can't say for sure what XANA would plan, but since we're talking about an escaped convict, it can't be anything good." Shuichi said.

Just then Anna's comm went off. "Yes? ...What?! Alright I'll let the others know." Anna said before turning to everyone. "Aelita's been hospitalized."

The group was shocked as they hurried out of the ship.

"What could've happened?" Lin asked.

"Hospital first, questions later." Al said as they arrived to the hospital.

"What happened?" David asked.

"No clue. We were in the middle of taking an exam when she suddenly collapsed to the ground." Twilight said.

"Hmm… Could there be something wrong with the core that powers the Super Computer?" Camilla asked.

"I didn't think any virus could affect it other than XANA, but it's still a Super Computer." Hope said. "And if there's one thing any appliance needs, it's a Power Source."

"So, what? Did the SuperComputer run low on battery power?" Jaune asked.

"That may as well be the case." Camilla said.

"Hmm… How strange." Korekiyo said.

"Indeed. This is quite the mystery." Mari said.

"I think I better give it a look. I'll run a sweep this afternoon." Miu said.

"Alright. We'll keep an eye on Aelita and for any possible attacks from the kingdoms." Roy said.

"In the meantime, we should find out what Flux was doing after going into the forest himself." Hope said.

"Hope, he's still in a coma. He won't be awake for months." Starlight said.

"What he means is that we do a little exploring of our own." Tsumugi said.

"What? I'm not gonna go in there, those bears will eat me for lunch!" Chopper said.

"Yet you can turn into many different forms including a monster. They're the ones who should be scared of you." Papelne said as she picked Chopper up and held him out in front of her.

"Stupid, I'm not happy cause you complimented me. But I'm still…" Chopper said.

"What if me, Papelne, and Petra went in with you?" Leonis asked.

"Well...okay." Chopper said.

"Oh! You are so adorable when you act tsundere, Chopper!" Papelne said as she held Chopper close and kissed him on the cheek a couple of times.

"Admit it, you're loving this as much as Papelne is." Ty said to the Straw Hats Doctor.

"Shut up!" Chopper said shocked.

"Alright, next stop, the forest! See you guys later." Papelne said as she and the others exited the room.

The four soon entered the forest where they approached the cave Flux was attacked in.

"Well there was definitely a mauling here. And the blood here is definitely Flux's." Chopper said.

"Let's hope we find something fast, or it will be ours next." Petra said.

"I think I might have found a clue. Look what I found behind the rocks." Leonis said pulling out a video camera.

"A camera? Flux might have been recording what happened before the attack." Chopper said.

"Let's watch it and see what he saw." Papelne said as she pressed the play button.

The footage was fuzzy at first but it soon showed Flux standing there facing a familiar looking ghost girl. "Wait...who is that?"

"I recognize her from the scriptures. She's Pandora!" Leonis said.

"The Yo-Kai that Ace told us about when we first arrived here?" Papelne asked.

"So...I'm here, just like you wanted. So...why bring me here?" Flux asked. "To a place I failed in?"

"I admit, there are situations we Yo-kai can bring people into that will be a repeat of an adventure, a Redux. But for this one, I threw in a few surprises. But there is one thing that has to go right. You get it? You have to be here!" Pandora said.

"He...has to be here?" Chopper wondered.

"I assume that's why you allowed me to keep my memories, yes?" Flux asked.

"Yes...but it won't last long. I need you to do what you did last time. The deed that got you hospitalized." Pandora said. "Please, the fate of the worlds depends on it."

"Personally, I could care less about the worlds. But...being here and fighting those heroes with mechs has relit something in me. A spark I thought was long gone. It was the first spark of villainy I had long forgotten." Flux said. "Fine...I'll do it. But in return, you'll leave me instructions on where to find it...Father's first created Yo-kai watch." he said. "That...and the Smash Scrolls."

"The Smash Scrolls? They're here?!" Leonis said in shock.

"I dont get it, what are the Smash Scrolls?" Chopper asked.

"A set of special summoning scrolls thought to have been lost. As you know, I use the assist version of summoning. But...the smash scrolls could bring my summons to a new level." Leonis said.

"What exactly do they summon? Legendary figures like the Eidolons?" Papelne asked.

"No...warrior heroes and villains from across many worlds." Leonis said.

"Why does that seem a little too coincidental?" Petra asked.

"Well...there was only one set of them. And the last time they surfaced was a few years back. They were bought by someone named...Cretaceous Flux." Leonis realized.

"No way…" Papelne said in shock.

"So...we have a deal?" Flux asked.

"Yes. After you are mauled, I'll leave you instructions on your person. But...you have to keep up your end of the bargain." Pandora said.

"Right. Oh this is gonna hurt so much." Flux said as a bear cub came out. "So sorry for this." He said before kicking it. It cried as the mother rushed out just as the footage cut.

"So Pandora made a deal with Flux to find Cretaceous' Yokai Watch? Wait...he had a Yo-kai watch?" Chopper wondered.

"No..Cretaceous wouldn't have earned something like that. It's likely a knockoff version he created. Either way, both the scrolls and the watch could cause trouble if Flux gets his hands on them." Leonis said.

"Good thing he's hospitalized. We'll just have to find them before he recovers." Petra said.

"Yeah. Let's show this to the others." Papelne said.

Later..

"No doubt about it, Pandora wants Flux for something, but what?" Connor asked.

"No clue. He must have done something here in the past that made an impact." Jexi said.

"But for what we have no clue. But you say he's got...important goods on him?" Hope asked.

"Yes, instructions to find the Smash Scrolls and a Yokai Watch Cretaceous made."

"We'll just have to find them before he does. The problem is, they can be anywhere." Tsumugi said.

"Unfortunately. Cretaceous has a habit of not explaining things to people, even his own companions." Sayuri said.

"Actually...Christophorus did give me something to give to you, before I left with Ace and the others, Leonora." Arnice said as she held out a scroll with the Exalted Falchion etched on it. "Is this one of them?"

"It is! But...how did she…" Leonora began.

"I'm not sure. Christophorus said it was given to her by a mysterious man a long time ago. It could've been Cretaceous but I'm not sure." Arnice said.

"This...this is one of them. One of the scrolls." Leonis said. "Incredible."

"The question is, why did Chris want Leonora to have this?" Kokoro asked.

"Probably because she saw you as the destined wielder of these scrolls." Arnice said.

"This is incredibly nice. But...I refuse." Leonora said.

"Is something wrong?" Arnice asked.

"It's nothing wrong. It's just...as a Valkyrie, I summon using the souls of the deceased. Me using this...it just wouldn't work." Leonora said.

"Why not give it to someone who has no means of fighting right now?"

"Actually...I already know who to give them to." Leonora said holding the scroll to Leonis.

"What? Are...are you certain?" Leonis asked.

"You proved you aren't held down by what your family does. You can still become an amazing summoner." Leonora said.

"Leonora…" Leonis said tearing up as he took the scroll. "Thank you...so very much." he said.

"This may sound weird but...I can sense Marth, Ike, Lucina, Reflet, Corrin and my power in that scroll, but with a different air around it." Roy said.

"It's only one scroll. One warrior is only inscribed in each scroll. What Roy is sensing is energies that have been in contact with it." Leonis said.

"Yeah, this warrior might be from their reality." Jude said.

"It could be another version of them probably. Though it's hard to say." Vargas said.

"In any case, we need to find the others, before flux gets his hands on them."

"Ahem. Hello? Anyone there?" Miu said quietly on the comm.

"Miu? What's wrong?" Mari asked.

"Uh...a lot of things. Where to start first? Well...I'm basically being held at gunpoint." Miu said. "Well not literally. What I mean is...XANA and CutMan are here! At the factory."

"What?" David asked.

"Yeah. I found out why things were going wrong. The core was running out of power. And...well XANA knew this too. The reason he hasn't attacked is cause he needs me to change the battery. But, after I do so, he and CutMan are going to try and kill me." Miu said.

"Don't worry, we'll be there as soon as we can." Mari said.

"I'm gonna get a head start on CutMan's demands, Sonic, Iida, you're with me." Rainbow said activating her geode and rushing to the factory with the two only to be met with a blockade of Geodude and Graveler along with some Golem. "Damn…"

"Go! I'll take care of these guys." Saki said as she ran up to them.

"Not this time. Magnitude!" Golem said as they jumped causing an earthquake.

"Look, we can't go running blindly." Leonis said. "This scroll...okay...I'm about to risk my life...see you guys later." He said taking off running.

"Leonis!" Zexi shouted.

"Here comes another." Golem said.

"Summon the draining monster! Metroid!" Leonis said as a lone metroid went and attached to a Golem as they panicked while Leonis slipped by.

"What is he doing?" Hope asked.

"He's done sitting in the wings. Right now...he's trying to prove himself." Leonora said.

Leonis continued to run as fast as he could before reaching the factory where CutMan stood on guard.

"Huh? Just one of you guys? Not very exciting." CutMan said.

"Doesn't matter. I'm all I need!" Leonis shouted.

"Fine...guess they'll just have to cut you out!" CutMan said removing his scissors. "Cutter Boomerang!" He said tossing it as Leonis ducked but not before some of his robes were cut in the way. CutMan then tried to cut his head off before Leonis quickly rolled out of the way. "Hey...you're pretty good at this."

"I come from a wealthy family. People have been trying to hold me ransom for years. Gotta learn some self defense." Leonis said panting.

"Time to cut you out." CutMan said charging.

"This is it. Time to see if the scroll works." Leonis said holding his staff as the scroll vanished and went inside. "Even if they tried giving it to someone with no power, it wouldn't work. These scrolls only work with someone who has appropriate knowledge of summoning and need a medium. Mine is this staff. This is gonna take a lot outta me...but it's worth it. Summon...the Hero King! Marth!" He shouted.

A light appeared on the ground as a figure rose from it. This figure was none other than Marth.

"I...I did it." Leonis said panting.

"So you summon one warrior. That sword won't work on me. I'm a cut above the rest!" CutMan said charging in.

"Sorry...you didn't have to die today." Marth said drawing his sword back. "Ahhhhh!" Marth said thrusting his sword forward as it pierced through CutMan, cutting him in half.

"Looks like you...didn't make the cut." Leonis said.

"Heh… That's a good one…" CutMan said before he exploded.

"Noble mage...I can see an alarming amount of potential from you." Marth said before he vanished as Leonis fainted.

"Leonis!" Ace called out as he jumped down and picked him up. "You did well. Now I will return you to the others." He said as he headed back to the Sunny.

It was later inside the Sunny…

"Seems Miu didn't need our help after all. She had Duncan restrained by the time we got there." Shuichi said.

"At least CutMan's destroyed. One less threat to worry about." Keebo said.

"Guess he's cut out of the picture. Heh." Ace said.

"That guy sure had the best cut puns, didn't he?" Mayumi asked.

"Yup. By the way Zexi, how's Leonis?" Ace asked.

"He'll be fine. He just needs some rest. Apparently summoning Marth used up a lot of his energy and magic." Zexi said.

"All I can say is that he will become a great summoner. You found a good teammate, Zexi." Ace said.

"These Smash Scrolls...they are a lot more powerful than we imagined." Twilight said.

"MegaMan, you don't need to re-scan CutMan again for his weapon, do you?" Hope asked.

"I don't do the weapon scanning anymore, Hope. Just leave it be." MegaMan said.

"Another day, Another small victory. Though it's crazy to find out Flux was sent into this redux as well." Leviathan said.

"He was here in the original timeline, so I guess it would be crazy if he DIDN'T show up." David said.

"By the way, David. I want to ask for your permission of something." Ace said.

"What would that be?" David asked.

"You said Tsumugi isn't able to fight, right?" Ace asked.

"Yep. With her memories wiped, she's a blank slate now." David said.

"Please...allow me to pass onto her my ability to color fight." Ace said.

"You want to make her your pupil? But you just started out yourself." David said.

"I know. But I think it would make her very happy if she was able to fight alongside you and her classmates." Ace said.

"Well, an alternative was to give her my Law, since I don't really need one." Keebo said.

"I see. I'm not asking to do it now. I wanted to see if you would be okay with it." Ace said.

"That will depend on what she thinks is best. It will be her means of combat, after all." David said.

"It's her choice. Not mine. So don't worry, I won't force it. She's your teammate after all." Ace said.

"I appreciate your offer, but I will have to say no, David." Tsumugi said. "Keebo, give me the law you recieved."

"Of course." Keebo said as his body opened to a small sewing kit. "Law of Cosplay."

"Law of Cosplay? Why does Keebo have it?" Maki asked.

"Oh. That was actually meant for Tsumugi. I just told Keebo it was his till we knew we could trust her." Kokichi said.

"Makes sense, considering everything that happened." Tsumugi said.

"You don't have to worry, Tsumugi. This is the start of a new life for you, where you can make new memories with everyone." Kaede said.

"She's right. Sure you were the Mastermind that almost got us all killed, but...maybe this is a sign. A sign that the time has come for a new chapter in your life to be written." Shuichi said.

"Everyone…" Tsumugi said. "Thank you." she said bowing.

"You're not Junko Enoshima the 53rd anymore. And you're not James's lapdog. You're Tsumugi Shirogane, the Ultimate Cosplayer." Keebo said.

"Don't let anything people say change that." Shuichi said.

"Yeah…" Kaede said.


	13. Temptation

It was another day on the Sunny…

"Jeremie's been acting a little weird lately, don't you think?" Jesse asked.

"Yeah...he's been setting up all those RTTP's everytime XANA strikes. Heck, during the recent one, XANA's attack hadn't even reached Earth yet." Lucy said.

"He should keep in mind that every trip is just going to make XANA stronger." Dark Metaknight said.

"I'm sure he's well aware of that, but still…" David said. "He's been missing both History and Gym class."

"Gym, I can understand, but History? That's so not like him." Mayumi said.

"Aelita went to check on him after he left class. I just hope everything's alright." Lilliana said.

"All we can do is wait and see how it goes." Aluche said.

"Thanks to Papelne, Leonis, Chopper, and Petra. We managed to learn about the Smash Scrolls and the Yo-Kai Watch. Which also gave us a bit more info on Cretaceous." Simon said.

"Yeah...the guy studied a lot of things. We knew that." Hope said.

"We only met the guy once and he is still a total mystery." Jexi said.

"Wait...you mentioned a Yo-kai Watch?" Tails asked. "This may be coincidental timing but...I decrypted the passage describing that."

"What? Why didn't you say anything earlier?" Connor asked.

"With all the stuff going on, it was hard to find a good time." Tails said.

"Alright. Can you tell everyone what you found out, Tails?" Camilla asked.

"There's a video on it." Tails said playing it.

"Log number 134: Yo-kai. I have recently entered the Beast Universe where I have begun studying the spirits of Japan known only as the Yo-kai. Though through study, some of it puzzles me. Yo-kai were only inhabitants of the Shinto Universe. My theory is that when it was consumed by Yamigedo, all of them migrated here. Recently, I had the honor of meeting with the current Enma of this age. He has told me tales of these legends but there is one that got my attention: Fudou Myouou."

"Fudou Myouou?!" Kabuki said in shock.

"You know about this guy?" Takeshi asked.

"Yes...not a single soul in the Shinto Universe has not heard of him. He was once a powerful being that roamed our universe. Our strongest. Even stronger than Enma himself. Of course, he could not control this power so...the Enma's of past generations came together in order to seal him and his uncontrollable power as well as his four followers away. This legend has been passed down in multiple homes in order to prevent anyone from becoming too powerful." Kabuki said.

"Damn… If he's stronger than Enma, then he really must be dangerous." Jesse said.

"Is there anymore on the video, Tails?" Stoj asked.

"It wasn't finished. Now unpause." Tails said.

"After listening to the story, I soon saw scrolls depicting a long lost Yo-kai watch. The Yo-kai Watch Ogre. I knew I must try and find it. But while I did not find the watch...I found something even more powerful...the four stones Fudou's followers were sealed in. I chipped away parts of these stones for a purpose...to create a replica of said watch." He said.

"He's a brilliant man. But he must be crazy to chip the stones that Fudou's followers were in." Al said.

"Like I said many times, no one can tell what is on his mind most of the time." Sayuri said.

"While chipping the stones can't free his followers, their spirits can still be embedded. After weeks of trying...I have created it. My replica." He said holding a black watch with four faces on the dial. "Unlike normal ones, this one can only summon the Yo-kai shown. Goemon, Omatsu, Yoshitsune and Benkei."

"Four of Japan's greatest legends." David said.

"Yoshitsune, a Military Commander of the Heian and Kamakura periods along with Benkei who was a warrior monk of the Heian period as well. Though Goemon and Omatsu are unfamiliar to me." Spade said.

"Goemon Ishikawa… A renowned thief that was much like Robin Hood." David said.

"He stole gold and gave it to the poor. Right?" Simon asked.

"Exactly. However… After a failed assassination attempt on Hideyoshi Toyotomi… He and his family were publicly executed." David said.

"How horrible… And as for Omatsu, it's possible it's a Yo-Kai based on Maede Matsu, also known as Omatsu No Kata, a Japanese woman who had a reputation for intelligence at literary and Martial Arts." Ace said.

"Sounds pretty strong to me." Akane said.

"But after construction of the watch, I have come to realize that there may be others who would like to take it for themselves for power. As such, I've hidden it away in this town in order to keep it safe. Though for how long...I do not know." He said before the video deleted itself.

"Alright, so it's in this town, but where? And when it's located, should we destroy it so it doesn't fall into the wrong hands or is it too risky?" Linde asked.

"If we know Cretaceous, he definitely wouldn't just tell whoever hears about his research. Why do all of his notes turn into scavenger hunts?" Mayumi asked.

"Do you think he wanted us to find them for some reason?" Kohaku asked.

"Nah, that'd be impossible. Sure, his findings could lead to catastrophic results in the wrong hands, but he is no clairvoyant. He wouldn't expect anyone to find them in the first place." Jesse said.

"Just how much of his research did he leave behind before disappearing?" Reflet asked.

"None can say for sure. That guy is just a walking puzzle that no one can even come close to solving." Takeshi said.

"But the thing about this is, we've come across more than one of Cretaceous' secrets. We have a right to know what we can about what he's found." Hope said.

"I agree. I saw my dad for the first time in a long time. I want to know all I can about him." Damien added.

"Yeah. We'll just have to leave it to our researchers to see if they can decode anymore files." Ace said before Anna's comm rang.

"Yumi? …Alright, I'll let the others know." Anna said. "XANA's launched an attack, he's taken control of an ambulance that Jeremie is in and Yumi is chasing after it."

"Great. We'll discuss this later. We need to get to Lyoko now and stop this." Connor said.

"I'll go after the ambulance in case they need backup." David said.

"How do you plan to do that?" Sectonia asked.

"On my motorcycle, of course." David said.

"How do you… Nevermind. Me and Eleanor will head to Lyoko with Colette." Marta said.

"Miu, Jeremie is out of commission, so you'll have to handle things in the factory." David said.

"Roger dodger!" Miu said.

"Good luck guys." Jexi said as they split off.

"Come on. I'll help ya." Rainbow said as she and David headed out quickly.

David and Rainbow were soon on the road chasing down the ambulance by foot or in David's case motorcycle as it kept driving.

"Man, XANA really has no care for the rules of the road." Rainbow said. "Wait...I know this route. And up ahead...that's a river!"

"Oh, that's not good…" David muttered.

"He's trying to drown them. And I realize that you could freeze the river but you would have to get ahead of them." Rainbow said.

"I'll try. But it looks like we're about to get some uninvited guests." David said.

"You catch up to that ambulance. I'll take care of them." Rainbow said.

"Alright. I'm counting on you!" David said as he sped up, managing to pass a blockade of rocks that fell behind him.

"Nuts! One of them slipped by!" said a strange tree creature.

"Let's just keep it up." another said as they kept throwing rocks.

"Sudowoodo? Seriously?" Rainbow said. "Okay...you guys are about to learn how not to mess with a teenager." She said summoning her keyblade. "Let me show you what a real earthquake is." She said plunging it into the earth as the ground started to shake as large rock spires emerged and hit the Sudowoodo dead on. "I learned that trick during the little war that went down."

"Come on…" David said getting close to the ambulance. "Almost…" David soon managed to pull ahead. "Yes." he said touching the ground as the ice traveled across the road before forming into a large wall of ice.

"Yes. That oughta….he's...he's not slowing down. David, divert him! He's gonna ram the wall!" Rainbow shouted.

"I'll manage what I can." David said.

"What the heck is taking Eleanor and Marta so long? We can't keep XANA occupied forever." Rainbow wondered.

On Lyoko…

"Back off you creepy crawly!" Eleanor yelled as she swung her hammer at a Tarantula while Colette threw her chakrams at it. "How are you doing over there, you guys?" She called out to Odd, Aelita, and Marta.

"We've almost got Aelita through." Odd said. "Just a little more."

"Marta...you're up. Clear the way." Aelita said.

"Alright. Ready...Prism Sword!" Marta chanted as she casted the arte, clearing a path. "Alright, Aelita, go on ahead."

Aelita hurried down the path as she entered the tower. Upon entering the code, the ambulance on the outside soon slid to a halt as it was just seconds away from an open river.

"Phew… Talk about cutting it close." David said.

"Even though CutMan's gone, you're still doing cut puns. Heh." Ace said as he laughed a bit on the comm.

"I know. It's infectious, I tell you." David said.

"Let's just get Jeremie and Yumi outta there before something else goes wrong." Rainbow said.

Later on the Sunny…

"Okay, found out Jeremie's whole thing. He was using notes from Hopper to try and increase his intellect. But this was a trick by XANA to increase his own." Tails said.

"I'd bet. Hopper's notes seem very complicated." Petra said.

"Well thankfully, Jeremie won't be doing that again. All of the equipment he used for it has been gotten rid of." Lacy said.

"Yeah...if something like that ever happens again, I am smashing computers." Akane said.

"Okay that's...something. For now...let's just focus on what's what for now." Jexi said.

"Cragspur attacked again. They tried to send a blockade, but I managed to slip past while Rainbow took them out." David said.

"They're starting to get more daring in their assaults." Ming said. "We need to begin preparing for an assault on their kingdom."

"Yeah. We'll need to take care of them ASAP before their attacks get worse." Ace said.

"They actually tore up road and buildings to make that blockade. I would hate to imagine their next move. We attack Cragspur then." Jexi said.


	14. A Bad Turn

Above the skies of the city, Cragspur was floating right above it.

"Sir...I think now is the time to launch our invasion." said a small red creature with a daruma like body known as Darumaka.

"Yes...I believe you might be right." said a strange rock creature as it walked off its stone throne. "I think it's time we showed these techie reliant whippersnappers who's in charge. Send word to the soldiers...and change the castle to city assault mode!" he ordered.

"Of course, Boldore." Darumaka said bowing before running off.

"The time has finally come." Boldire said. "We've waited patiently for Avia to retreat. And with Viperia silent on this world, now we can strike. It's time to show the world the true might, of the Rock Kingdom, Cragspur!"

Down below the kingdom…

"Can't believe we're wasting time with this." Hope said sitting among the student group as one student at a time practicing driving.

"Oh, relax. It's a necessary skill out in the field." David said.

"Easy for you to say. You have a Jamblasted motorcycle!" Flamberge said.

"Regardless of opinions, Drivers Ed is an important part of school development." Yaoyorozu said.

"Momo's right. Can't really call yourself an adult if you don't have a driver's license, or at least a learners permit." Kazuichi said.

"It's a good thing I don't need to do this, then. I already got my Driver's License." Sunset said.

"Yeah, on the second try." Natsu commented.

"Dunno about you guys, but I think there's gonna be some tension between Ulrich and William on this." Hope said.

"When isn't there tension between those two?" Francisca asked.

"Yeah, in this point in time, those two fight like cats and dogs. Only cause they both like the same girl." Dan said.

"Yep. Classic love triangle at its finest." Ming said.

"You're just saying that because of your former crush, right?" Ruby asked shocking her.

"Wh-what?! Come on. You know that I don't let that stuff bother me anymore." Ming said. "Besides, I'll find someone out there one day."

"My my, isn't young love fascinating?" Jade asked. "Seems there'll be a lovers quarrel between Ulrich and William over Yumi till this redux has ended. By the way, have you all been catching up with your studies?"

"I didn't know you signed up to be a teacher at Kadic, Jade." Hope said.

"Well considering I've done tons of research back on my world, why not sign up as a teacher here?" Jade asked. "Besides it could be fun. If Anise was here, she would be all over you and the other boys, Hope."

"It's always hard to tell whether he's being serious or sarcastic all the time. That's how he can get under people's skin." Luke said.

"Yeah...not sure we should be hanging with a guy like this." Ryuji said before they all felt the earth shake. "Huh?"

"What the hell was that?" Ruenheid asked.

"Probably a small earthquake." Twilight said as the students were disbanding and heading to different buildings.

"Yeah, I wouldn't call that little." David said.

"Is Cragspur attacking?" Aluche asked.

"That seems to be the only explanation for this." Mayumi said.

"It could also be that." Saki said pointing to a Crab.

"XANA...he's chosen now to attack?" Hope said.

"How can Crabs be in the real world? Unless XANA found a way to materialize his own monsters." Ren said.

"He managed to summon the Krankerlats a while back, who said he couldn't do it with Crabs either?" Roy asked.

"Scans are showing that they're appearing in three locations: The school, suburbs, and the Factory." Miu said.

"You mean they're coming from the factory. Only place they could be rising from." Lacy said.

"Seems we'll have to divide and conquer for this one." Azura said.

"Afraid dividing and conquering isn't an option this time. Look what's pulled up on the citywide cameras." Futaba said showing footage of a large castle being pulled by large rock snakes known as Onix.

"Is that Cragspur?" Aluche asked.

"No doubt about it." Sectonia said.

"Does anyone have a plan on what we should do?" Saaya asked.

"I think it's obvious. One group takes care of Cragspur while the other deals with our crab infestation by heading to Lyoko." Hope said.

"Didn't Futaba just say that divide and conquer isn't an option?" David asked.

"Afraid David's right, Hope. Cragspur's castle is leveling buildings as they go. We can't ignore them." Jexi said on the comm.

"Then we've got no other option but for all of us to attack Cragspur and leave the Crab Problem to Odd and Aelita." Connor said responding on the comm.

"That's an even worse plan." Genis said.

"I'll go and back them up. Just take care of the Cragspur problem and be careful." Ace said over the comm.

Odd and Aelita soon reached the factory where Ace was. As they got down to the scanners though, they were shocked to see all but one of them were destroyed.

"Damn, seems our crabby guests went a little wild." Odd said.

"What should we do?" Ace asked.

"I need to go in. There's still one scanner. I can still enter and get to the tower." Aelita said stepping in.

"Aelita's right, Ace. As things are, I can only send one at a time." Miu said.

"Alright." Ace said.

"Okay. Scanner, Aelita. Transfer, Aelita. Virtualization." Miu said. "Aelita's in safe. Now...wait...something's coming through."

"What?" Odd asked before the scanner opened as a crab came emerging from it, destroying it in the process.

"Oh no!" Ace said before slicing the Crab in half.

"Aelita, bad news. XANA sent a Crab and destroyed all the scanners. Looks like you're on your own here." Miu said.

"It's fine. I may be alone...but I will still get to the tower.' Aelita said as she took off.

"Good news is that we cut off the supply of crabs coming in. Bad news is we still have the remaining ones and Cragspur to deal with." Miu reported to the group.

"It's fine. I'm sure the other Lyoko warriors can handle them here. For us...we have bigger fish to fry." Jexi said as they all approached the moving castle known as Cragspur.

"Any ideas of how to get in?" Aya asked.

"I'll use a Fonic Hymn to put the Onix's to sleep. O melody beckon them toward the abyss…~Tue rei ze croa riou tue ze~." Tear sang as the Onix's fell asleep, causing the Cragspur to stop.

"Well, that's one way to stop a freight train, or 4 of them." Connor said. "But with it immobile, we got us a way in!"

"Wait...look." Yaoyorozu said as the castle was still slowly moving.

"How is this possible? The Onix are still asleep!" Ty said.

"I wonder." Jiro said plugging one of her earjacks into the ground. "I thought so. There's movement underground too."

"Even so, we decreased the movement by half. But I doubt those Onix will sleep forever. We strike before they wake." Spectra said.

"Yes. The Fonic Hymn won't last long, so we only got 1 hour before the Onix wake up." Tear said.

"Then no wasting time. We enter the kingdom, find it's king and then get out." Zexi said as they began charging in.

The group moved their way through the sprawling rock fortress, taking down the soldiers and other Rock-Types in their way.

"This kingdom is like a maze in here, it's so big." Morph noted.

"True, it is a massive piece of land...but it's only got a few buildings. Raid all of them." Jack said.

"I'll go after the king." Ruenheid said.

"Assuming you can even get to him in this maze." Lloyd said.

"How about this, whoever gets to the king first gets to fight him." David said.

"Sounds fair." Francisca said.

"This isn't a game, idiot." Ruenheid said.

"I was just trying to be fair." David said. "After all, like Lloyd said, we don't know which path leads to the king. We can't push our luck here."

"You're right. I'm sorry. There just has to be a way we can get through this maze quickly. I apologize for calling you an idiot. This is the problem of being a Knight, you take things too seriously." Ruenheid said as she stabbed her sword into the ground. "Francisca, can you fly up and give us an aerial view?"

"I'll see what I can find." Francisca said as she rose. "Hmm. Three buildings. The main castle, a set of storehouses and one large stone temple." she said.

"David. Comrades?" Ruenheid asked holding a hand out.

"Yeah." David said as he shook it. "Let's go."

"Yes." Ruenheid said as her sword became covered in light and they continued on before reaching the castle. "We made it."

"Ah...seems like things are going good for…" Darumaka said coming out only to be met by the heroes. She slowly closed the door as she went running as the heroes barged in.

"Here's Johnny!" Simon said.

"The Shining, really?" Peridot asked.

"I thought it would be funny. Come on you thought it was funny too, right?" Simon asked.

"I thought the reference was spot on." Korekiyo said.

"Thank you, Kiyo." Simon said.

"Alright, where did that golem go?" Saki asked.

"That was more of a Daruma...and I think she ran towards the west wing." Korekiyo said.

"Should some of us go after her while the rest head to the throne room?" Saaya asked.

"I'll handle her. You all can try and find the king." Korekiyo said heading down the path.

"Alright. Onward!" Ruenheid said pointing her sword forward.

"You know Ruenheid, you're really a great person to be around once warmed up too. I like your mentality." Toma said as they advanced.

"U-Uh, thank you, Toma. But please, call me Rue." Ruenheid said a bit flustered.

"Oh, okay Rue." Toma said. "I didn't know she had a flustered side."

"She's basically a Tsundere when you compliment or flatter her. All in all, she's a great friend and knight." Lilliana said.

Meanwhile, Darumaka had made it to a strange room filled with fossils. "Don't worry. I'll get all of you out." She said grabbing each fossil, one by one and loading them into an escape capsule. "The plan originally was to convert the remains of this city into a fossil restoration facility so we can reconstitute these extinct pokemon. But we can't do it with these people. I can at least get these out." she said finishing before firing the capsule off into the distant woods.

"Found you." Korekiyo said as he entered the room.

"You don't frighten me. As general...I will not let you pass." Darumaka said.

"We shall see." Korekiyo said drawing a long thorned whip.

"A whip?" Darumaka asked.

"Yes. While I have a law, it's useless for combat, so I've taken to using something more...painful." Korekiyo said cracking it.

"Torture, is it? I'll have you know I'm Cragspur's Top General. I may be small, but I still can beat you." Darumaka said.

"Sorry...but you can't." Korekiyo said snapping his whip at Darumaka sending her flying only for her to land by pulling her arms and legs in and bobbing on the ground. "Interesting, you reduce damage by pulling your limbs in and balancing...like an actual daruma. Not bad...but bobbing only lasts for a long while." he said repeatedly attacking her with his whip, causing a lot of damage as it racked up more and more until she lied there defeated. "My apologies. I couldn't bring myself to hold back."

On the monitors, Boldore could see all that was going on. "Seems even Darumaka can't stand up to them. Guess it's all on me." Boldore said turning around as the door broke down.

"Special delivery for a one Boldore." David said.

"Well...seems you found my throne room. I know what you want. My throne and kingdom, right?" Boldore asked.

"Exactly." Flamberge said. "Rue, why don't you take this one?"

"Alright. As Knight of the Lourdes Order, Spirit Force, and Hero Alliance. I will be the warrior of light that protects the people she cares about. Prepare yourself, Boldore!" Ruenheid said as she pointed her sword forward.

(Cue- Blinded by the Light-Dissidia 012)

"A sword like that has no chance of harming me, little girl. So..let's get it on. Can't go waiting for 100 years." Boldore said. "Rock Blast!" He said firing blasts at her.

"Pierce through!" Ruenheid yelled as she launched a wave of light downward, vaporizing the attacks. "Here I come!" She yelled as she bathed her sword in light and charged forward.

"Harden!" Boldore said as the sword bounced off his body. "You gotta try way harder if you wanna win." Boldore replied.

"Burst!" Ruenheid yelled as her sword glowed bright as she slammed it down, launching a huge ray of light at Boldore.

"Rock Polish!" Boldore said as it became shinier before it dodged the attack quickly.

"What is with this guy?" Flamberge said.

"Unlike all those younguns who focus all on attack and attack...I focus more on strategy and strengthening my defenses more." Boldore said. "I win by matching my wits and outsmarting my opponents."

"Don't get so cocky, no matter how strong an opponent is, there's always a weakness." A voice said as a blue haired woman jumped through the window and launched a wave of ice and water at Boldore. She wore a blue combat skirt and swimsuit bra covered with a leather belt over it, blue boots with black stockings, a headband with a ribbon and blue rose on her hair, a sleeveless velvet cloak with gold linings, and a sword with a blue blade and a large blue rose on the guard in her left hand as she looked at Boldore.

"Now there...I don't think we've ever been acquainted. I've seen you around my kingdom before in the last few days, but I never took ya for an attacker. Just who are ya?" Boldore asked.

"I am Selena of the Six Heroes and the reincarnation of Shiva, on my master's and Zelos' honor. I challenge you to combat." Selena said as she pointed her sword Lexida at Boldore before turning to the group. "It's been a long time."

"A little too long, I'd say." Zelos said. "You really had me worried for a moment."

"My apologies, Zelos. I promise you a dance and kiss when this is over." Selena said as she winked at Zelos. "Till then, I shall overthrow the king."

"Rue, Zelos knows this girl! Work together with her and beat the stuffing outta Boldore!" Flamberge said.

"Will ya be quiet. I will only fight one opponent at the time. And considering this young lady was lack luster...I wouldn't mind battling someone who proclaims themselves a hero. But let's make things interesting. You win, you get the kingdom, I win...you become the general of my army here." Boldore said.

"Go get him, Selena!" Zelos cheered.

"With pleasure. Brave Burst, Estreal Bloom!" Selena yelled as she waved Lexida and Blue Roses on vines launched towards Boldore, hitting two weak points and dealing heavy damage. "Super Brave Burst, Crysta Laviena!" She yelled, waving Lexida again, causing crystals of water and ice to pop up underneath Boldore. "Do you concede, King Boldore?"

"Hardly." Boldore said slowly getting up. "My ability is Sturdy. Those hits may have been hard hitting...but I've withstood worse. Now...let's finish this. With one big Earthquake." He said lifting a foot.

"Selena!" Ruenheid yelled before Jexi stopped her.

"It's a solo battle between her and Boldore. We can't interfere." Jexi said as Ruenheid nodded.

"Overdrive, Mercurius Blade!" Selena yelled as a red aura formed around her as she charged toward Boldore on a path of ice before slicing through him. "Forgive me, you are wounded, but have fought with honor. It is over, King Boldore." She said as she looked at Boldore.

"Yeah...I had a feeling this was how things were gonna go." Boldore said as he fell to the ground unconscious.

"*Sigh* It is over. Is everyone alright?" Selena asked as she dispelled Lexida and walked towards the group.

"Yep. We're all good here. Well, not exactly all of us." Zelos said.

"Oh yes, a kiss for my prince charming." Selena said as she kissed Zelos on the cheek.

"Good to have you back. When I heard that you sacrificed yourself, I thought that…" Zelos said as tears started to fall.

"Shh. It's alright. I may have lost most of my power, but I was able to reincarnate into this form so I could be with you and my summoner." Selena said as she put her hands on Zelos' cheeks and wiped the tears away.

"Still, it's good to have you back." Zelos said.

"Speaking of which, you doing okay, Ruenheid?" David asked.

"Yes. I am fine. I apologize for my actions earlier, I shouldn't have called you an idiot when you're a league above me. When I fought him… I felt so powerless. My attacks didn't have any effect at all." Ruenheid said.

"All the more reason for you to keep getting stronger, so that you wouldn't suffer such a defeat again." David said.

"Yes. Thank you, David." Ruenheid said.

"No problem. I'm always happy to help people in need. Now, we seem to be done here. Let's head back. Aelita and Miu are probably finished up by now." David said.

"Seems like it." Saki said as a white dome went over them as time reversed.

"Hey, Dave. Did you really mean what you said back at Cragspur?" Fulgore asked.

"Of course I did. Because...I was in the same situation." David said. "When we were in one of my earliest outings in Glenwood, I fought against Invel of the Spriggan 12. Much like Ruenheld with Boldore, my attacks had no effect either, and I can only watch as Invel beat me to within an inch of my life. He probably would've killed me if Gray hadn't stepped in."

"I see. You felt the same way Rue did." Cyrille said.

"You would know. You were there. Well, not directly, but…" David said.

"We get it. You felt completely defeated, and you kept getting stronger and unlocking new abilities so that you won't suffer such a loss again." Leonora said.

"We all have our defeats at some point. The point of defeat is to learn from it in order to avoid the event from happening once again." Jexi said.

"That's right. And in a way, I made up for that during the Ultron Sigma incident." David said. "But now, he's probably out of Universal Prison."

"I thought he was destroyed." Arnice said.

"He was talking about Invel." Tapu Bulu said.

"Hmm. Considering Invel's crimes as a war criminal, its likely. I don't know which prisoners were transferred to that government prison...but...we can't rule it out." Jack said.

"First I'm thinking about Diana and Cheetah, and now Invel. This whole Titans incident is making my past catch up with me." David said.

"We'll be ready, so don't worry David. Also, look over there." Arnice said pointing to Selena and Zelos waltzing in the distance.

"At first, I thought he wouldn't go near her because of his trauma, but they seem really happy together." Lloyd said.

"Yeah, I guess meeting Selena as Shiva changed it." Vargas said. "I'm really happy for them."

"Nothing like a Happy Ending. But it's not over yet." Toma said.

"He's right. There's still Viperia. And Leia, we already know a certain someone is waiting for you there." David said.

"While that is true, we need to be wary. From what I remember, that kingdom is basically...a kingdom of poison ninjas." Bartolomeo said.

"We got ninjas on our side too. We'll be ready when the time comes, until then we enjoy this moment of peace." Stoj said.

Meanwhile in Viperia…

"Cragspur has failed in their conquest of this world, Lady Golbat." A soldier said.

"I already know. We are always observant of the tides of war. But...we cannot afford to fall so easily. Zubat...I want you to bring me...the five ninja masters." Golbat said.


	15. Attack of the Zombies

"Hey, Connor. You were dead before, right?" Bianca asked.

"I haven't been a Zombie, if that's what you're gonna ask me. Honestly, everyone around here's been watching too many Zombie flicks." Connor said.

"Hey..we've seen zombies and those things are terrifying." Usopp said.

"Yeah. I saw one up close. Large, polishing ice, moving slowly." Pinkie said.

"Uh...no. You're thinking of a zamboni." Jexi said.

"Well at least they aren't undead spirits. Those are the worse kind." Aya said.

"Honestly, it's hard to deal with anything undead. BOWs, Infected…. You all are lucky you haven't tangoed with area's neck deep in them." Connor said.

"Me, Kagura, and our sisters have. There were hundreds of them crawling all over tokyo in our world, and we managed to slice through them. We even fought a killer whale zombie too." Aya said. "But when they just keep coming, we know when to fall back."

"It seems like you all have great experience with undead." Cyrille said.

"Pretty much, there were also mudmen too, those were the worst kind we had to face." Saki said.

"The undead? Please. Those zombie movies are just superstition. Sure there are a few corpses that are seen living in the Undead universe, but elsewhere, zombies are just man made things. And as far as I know, they don't exist anywhere in the standard universe." Jack said. "Now...we going back to school or...wait, where's Rachel?"

"I think she went into the woods with Neu. Something...important I guess.' Petra said.

"I hope everything's alright." Liliana said. "How old is Neu, by the way?"

"Either 9 or 10. Somewhere around Zexi's age. We don't really know for sure." Harumi said.

"It's always hard to tell with some people. Some look older but are at a younger age and some are the opposite." Jade said.

"I'm just glad we were able to make Neu see that he's not a weapon, he's a person just like us." Izuku said.

"Yeah. I can't believe those damn Hobbyists would do something like that to an innocent child." Reflet said.

"Yeah. Though since we wished Neu wasn't a law anymore, he's one of the few people who have no way of fighting. I wonder…" Ty pondered.

In the forest that night, Rachel stood there motionlessly as Neu ran towards her with a polearm before she grabbed her weapon and gutchecked him. "Too noisy. You need to be more quiet." She said knocking him back.

"Why...do I have to do this?" Neu asked panting and covered in bruises.

"While you are like ze little brother to me. I have to teach you defense so you cannot be used against me or anyone." Rachel said. "Your strength and speed have decreased since ze loss of your law. Now is ze time to rebuild ze body."

"But...I just can't do the things you guys can. I'm just...just a child." Neu said.

"I can understand zat, but zere are enemies that vill show no mercy regardless. You need to keep your guard up at all times. Because...when all hope is lost, you might one day be ze one to win ze day, when no one else can." Rachel said.

"Sorry...but I can't see it happening." Neu said dropping his weapon as he ran off.

"Neu, wait…" Rachel said before she heard a twig snap. "Who's there?" She demanded before she saw some children walking out of the brush with sharp teeth and blank white eyes. "It can't be… Zombies, here?"

"Get back!" A voice shouted as Ryuji ran in with Captain Kidd. "Rachel, you alright?"

"Yes, I am fine. But… Neu ran off a moment ago. I'm getting worried he might be caught up in zis." Rachel said.

"Look...we need you right now. Go back to the school and rally any unaffected students. I'll go look for him." Ryuji said.

"Understood." Rachel said as she headed out.

Neu in the meanwhile was in a deep part of the woods as he looked around scared and afraid. He then stopped when he heard screaming from the school. "What? What's going on this time? Another XANA attack?" he wondered as he walked backwards and fell into a deep hole. "Ow." he groaned.

Getting up, he found himself in some strange tunnel. Travelling down the tunnel, he followed it for a bit before coming across a manmade altar where resting on it was a strange looking watch. "Is that...yeah. It is. The replica of that watch Tails showed us the other day." Neu said surprised.

He slowly approached it as took hold of it. As soon as he did, he soon saw visions of four darkened spirits appear before him.

"Human...you have found a power that is not meant for the mortal realm, albeit real or counterfeit. Tell us, what gives you the right to claim our power?" The voices asked.

"What gives me the right? I've been nothing but trash for a portion of my life. A weapon. But...recently, I found a place where I can call my own. So...do with me what you wish. I'll pay any price in order to be a shield for my sister and her friends!" Neu shouted.

The spirits were taken aback by this before looking down. "Very well...take the watch. And use our power." They said before vanishing as Neu took the watch and wore it.

"Neu! You down here? Neu!" Ryuji's voice shouted. "We got trouble. I gotta get you out!"

"Or maybe...I take the battle on myself." Neu said grabbing the dial. "I ask you, powerful Genma, possess my body and allow me to help! Yoshitsune!" Neu said turning the dial.

Traditional japanese music then began to play as a green ray of light emerged from the watch as it overshadowed Neu.

"Neu!" Ryuji said making it all the way down. Upon reaching the altar, all he saw was a young man with long green hair, dressed in robes, by his side was a sword as he played a flute. "Hey! You! You see a kid come here?"

"It's fine, Ryuji. We're both here." He said.

Back at Kadic, the students were huddled inside as the zombies kept banging at the glass and door.

"They're gonna get through." Hajime said.

"You wanna take back your statement about Zombies earlier, bro?" Hope asked. "They're right outside."

"They're humans controlled by XANA due to a virus. So, not legit zombies." Jack said.

"Yeah, that's being distributed by Kiwi's bites, which is way worse than rabies." Akane said.

"What's worse is Neu and Ryuji are out there alone. I am worried for zem." Rachel said.

"Don't worry Lady Rachel, I'm sure there somewhere safe." Lilliana said. "(I wonder if I should use my ability to control time?)" She thought to herself as she looked at her hands.

"Lillianna, I don't think that's a good idea." Hope said. "We're still among plenty of students. You use your powers, we're gonna be exposed."

"I know it's risky Sir Hope, but we don't have a choice. There will be more casualties if we don't do something." Lilliana said.

"But Lillianna…" Hope began before some flute music was being heard. "What in the?" he said as the people inside looked out to see a figure approach. The same figure from the cave.

"Who is that?" Aluche asked.

"You people who have been taken over...I ask you stop your attack now." He said before reaching for his sword.

"No! What is he doing?!" Saki asked.

The zombified students then ran at him as he grabbed the sword that was still in its sheath. He then ran at each one as he either knocked them in the head or stomach with just the sheath.

"Ease up, Saki. He's not hurting them." Akane said. "But who the hell is that guy?"

"Could it be...Yoshitsune?!" Simon said in shock.

As Yoshitsune slowly approached the doors, some straggler zombies were coming at him from behind.

"Blow em away!" Ryuji shouted as his persona rammed them. "Captain Kidd!"

"Ryuji, you're timing couldn't be better!" Aya said.

"Sorry I was late. I was going to pick someone up." Ryuji said referring to Yoshitsune.

"Neu? Is that you?" Stoj asked.

"Who else would I be?" He asked with a smile.

"Well with your appearance changed it's hard to tell. Wait... does this mean…" Saaya trailed off.

"My time is up." Yoshitsune said as he vanished as Neu returned.

"Yes...I found it." Neu said showing the replica watch.

"The Yokai Watch Ogre replica!" Mari said.

"Hold on, how was he Yoshitsune for a while there? Doesn't the Yo-Kai watch usually summon the guys?" Kazuichi asked.

"It must be different for this one. Apparently those four faces on the watch were the ones mentioned in the video. It seems they possess Neu so that he would use their abilities to have a fighting chance." Simon theorized.

"He's right. I was the real Yoshitsune because I allowed him to possess me." Neu said.

"We'll talk about this after we returned to the past." Mari said as the white dome enveloped them.

Later, yet Earlier….

"I gotta say Neu, you finding the Yokai Watch Ogre replica was really unexpected, but you're sure know your way around it." Sunset said. "Rachel, what do you think about this turn of events?"

"I did say zat one day he could be ze one to save ze day. I just didn't expect it like zat." Rachel said.

"It was strange for me too. But...it was certainly something." Neu said. "Guess luck was on my side."

"Now you're able to fight alongside the Brave Adventurers and the rest of the Hero Alliance now, way to go Neu!" Stoj said as she and Neu Hi-Fived.

"We can at least check off one of Cretaceous' studies as complete." Miu said.

"Yes, and the ones that still need to be searched for are the Smash Scrolls, and the remaining twelve, so far we have 3 and hopefully four if Cor managed to convince Vulcanusmon." Tsuki said.

"The Olympos XII is more of a long-term thing. We're not going to find them all right away."

"I know. We just have to take our time with that one." Tsuki said. "Right now we still have to worry about XANA and Viperia. When should we plan our assault?"

"Not right away. Don't be so hasty." Mayumi said.

"She's right. These soldiers are ninja, meaning they are careful with their planning and don't just attack." Sunset said.

"I understand that. Blindly rushing in right away would be fatal. So we have to take our time." Tsuki said.

"One thing's for sure, there's not a lot about Viperia's top brass we know. We're completely going dark on battling them." Connor said. "And we still don't know who their prisoners are going to be."

"Yeah, seems like we'll need to somehow gather information about them." Spade said.

Mayumi sees Salazzle looking down. "Hm? What's wrong, Salazzle?" Mayumi asked, which caused Salazzle to shake her head, assuring her it was nothing.

"I bet she must be thinking about those five Salandit that were with her at Alola." Hope said.

"I guess so. The poor girl's homesick." Lin said.

"Actually, I caught those Salandit too. But...homesick? I wonder…" Mayumi said.

"Do you plan on bringing them out Mayumi?" Ryu asked.

"(Hmm… No, it can't be! I have a hunch, but it's completely insane!)" Mayumi thought.

"Did you just think of something, Mayumi? It looked like you were lost in thought." Roy said.

"As a matter of fact, I did. Salazzle looked down when the thought of invading Viperia was mentioned. And then Lin mentioned something about her being homesick. This may sound crazy, but there's only one way I can piece it all together." Mayumi said.

"What is it? Are you saying that…" Roy trailed off.

"I'm afraid so. Salazzle and her Salandit cohorts were residents of Viperia, but migrated to Alola." Mayumi said.

"So the Salandit are on Viperia?" Roy asked.

"No, she already said that Salazzle's friends are on Mayumi's team." Fulgore said.

"Though, considering Viperia is a Poison-type kingdom, we can't exactly rule out the possibility of more of them being there too." Mayumi said.

"But if Salazzle is originally from Viperia, how come she isn't speaking like all the other Kingdom born pokemon?" Ochako asked.

"Maybe she lived so much better in Alola that she got used to communicating like the Pokemon there." Mayumi said.

"I see, she's afraid she might have to fight her own kind right after leaving Viperia, right?" Anna said.

Salazzle reluctantly nodded at that.

"Oh, we are so sorry, Salazzle. I just wish things didn't have to be like this for you." Papelne said as she hugged Salazzle's head.

"But don't you worry. We're gonna claim Viperia, and we won't let them lay a finger on you. And if it comes down to it, you'll fight with us, right?" Ty asked.

Salazzle nodded her head. "Thank...you...everyone."

"Whoa! She DOES talk!" Akane said in shock.

"It's because she has decided to trust us. Don't worry about a thing, Salazzle. We'll face them together." Mayumi said.

"Yes. I mean, we defeated them with a three man team last time...we can do ...almost the same thing." Cavendish said.

"Eh...good enough. For now...we just live life through." Zexi said.


	16. Ultimatum

Aboard the Sunny…

"Well...if we're going to send a three man team to Viperia, they should at least have a resistance to poison just in case. Any ideas?" Reflet asked.

"Uh...why are you planning by yourself? No one else is even planning an attack yet." Jexi said.

"Oh, I'm sorry Jexi, I just wanted to plan ahead so we could be ready ahead of time." Reflet said.

"I don't think there's any need to deliberate. We already know Mayumi and Leia are going." David said.

"Besides, I said almost the same, meaning it doesn't have to be three people." Cavendish said.

Nina tapped on Mayumi's shoulder.

"What is it, Nina? You're saying you want to go too?" Mayumi asked.

Nina nodded her head yes.

"Look, we don't need to plan ahead right now. We just need to focus on XANA and Gospel for now until Viperia makes a move." Connor said.

"Right, we haven't seen any of the robots in a while which is awfully suspicious if you ask me." Lin said.

"There are only two left. FreezeMan and MagnetMan." Tails said. "They could be lying low because of the destruction of CutMan."

"Yes but...weren't CutMan, OilMan and TimeMan three of MegaMan's brothers?" Mari asked.

"Not the originals. When Light and my world died out, all that remained were the blueprints for all the robots. Flux claimed all of them and rebuilt them with improved designs." MegaMan said. "Besides, most of my original memories were lost when I was rebuilt."

"I see. I'm sorry." Mari said.

"In any case, Reflet. We don't need a plan just yet. At least give Viperia's top brass chances to attack. Usually after they're taken out, the kingdom decides to attack." Connor said.

"Right, I'm sorry. Since we're already dealing with XANA and Gospel. I just didn't want anymore problems on our plate. But you're right." Reflet said. "By the way, has anyone seen Tsuki?"

"I think she went to see Venusmon, they have a lot of catching up to do apparently." Ace said.

"I'd bet. Hope Ming gave the right directions to the flower shop." David said.

"Anyways, did you guys hear about Jeremie's new EMP bomb?" Miu asked.

"An EMP bomb? Can't say some of us have." Hisui said.

"EMP is short for 'Electro Magnetic Pulse'. According to Jeremie's description, it's meant to drive off traces of XANA from someone possessed by them, allowing-" Miu started.

"English, please." Lloyd said in frustration of the explanation.

"Bomb goes off, guy possessed by XANA is freed." Miu said.

"Basically nullifies anything electrical within a certain radius, right?" Mari asked.

"So if Jeremie uses it, it would be a blackout in Kadic. XANA would have to possess someone that has a REALLY big influence on him and Team Lyoko's lives." Nana said.

"Well, depending on how big the radius is. How many miles does the radius go after it's gone off?" Simon asked.

"It's only a short radius. About the size of this room actually." Miu said.

"See, no need to worry about a blackout in Kadic." Kagura said.

"Still, wonder what it would take for Jeremie to use it?" Ty asked.

"No clue." Twilight said. "Let's just head off to classes and…." She said before her phone rang. "Yumi? What's up? Why are you…"

"Sorry..but Yumi can't come to the phone right now." A voice said.

"MagnetMan!" Twilight said.

"What have you done to them?" Sectonia asked.

"Don't worry. They're quite safe. Both Yumi and the spike head. But that won't be the case unless you meet our demands." MagnetMan said.

"I can already guess what it is." Jexi said.

"Demands?" Hope asked.

"Your principal is currently...XANA's newest servant. This is an ultimatum. Deliver Aelita to the Scyphozoa in the ice sector at 2. Do this, they go free. Don't...well...I'll leave it to your imagination." MagnetMan said before crushing the phone.

"I don't think we need to imagine. He's gonna kill them." Volt said.

"That's terrible! We gotta do something!" Erica said.

"Um, Ultimatum? We can't exactly get outta one if MagnettMan says it is. Besides, we don't do this, Yumi and Odd are gonna get killed." Fuyuhiko said.

"And we can't just barge in on them. We do, he'll kill them immediately. That and we have no clue where they went. We have no choice but to meet his demands." Spectra said. "For now at least."

Meanwhile in a cold storage facility…

"So...I take it you're gonna kill us no matter what, right?" Odd asked.

"Bingo. You all are as good as dead." MagnetMan said before hearing some noise. "What the heck? Hmm. Keep an eye on them." He said heading down the halls.

Just then multiple chained daggers flew out from somewhere in the dark halls.

"Magnet Barrier!" MagnetMan said as the daggers hit an electrical barrier as they stopped. "Heh. Nothing breaks my barrier. So...where are ya?"

"Right behind you fool." A voice said as they pierced a dagger through MagnetMan's chest.

"Ahh….heh. Gotcha." MagnetMan said only to see the dagger hit a barrier. "You humans really are stupid." He said tossing the figure aside. "So who are ya? You can't be one of those Dimensional Heroes cause even they wouldn't have attempted this foolish solo rescue schick."

"Though my appearance is different. You may call me...Medusa." A voice said as a figure stepped out of the shadows revealing a woman with waist length pink hair, a blindfold with pink linings over eyes same with her sleeves, shirt, and shoes, she also had a part of a tattoo revealed on her forehead.

"Medusa? Never heard of ya." MagnetMan said.

"I am the reincarnation of Siren the Sea Maiden, on my master's honor, you shall be executed." Medusa said before being pushed back by another barrier surge.

"Sorry...but I kinda got plans here. And for trying to rescue those kids...I gotta stomp ya out!" He said banging his fists together.

"You're welcome to try. But you will find I am not an easy opponent to put down." Medusa said as she pulled out two large daggers with spikes on the guard that were chained together. "The Bewitching Black Serpent shall see your end." She said before taking a feral stance and charging at him.

"Yeah, yeah. Magnet Missile!" MagnetMan said firing a missile at her. She ran but the missile followed her. "Oh...see, these missiles have a special effect...they can trail down anything metal except me."

"Mystic Eye." Medusa said as she pulled off her blindfold showing her gray eyes as the missiles froze in midair. "Now you shall see the power of my Noble Phantasm." She said before a figure went and grabbed her just as they exploded.

"What? Another one?" MagnetMan asked in anger.

"You were lucky I was coming here too." the figure holding her said.

"You...I know you. You interfered with our plans before." MagnetMan said as the figure removed their hood.

"I am Blaziken! A former general of Ignis...and partner of Yumi!" he declared.

"Thank you for your arrival Blaziken." Medusa said.

"This was supposed to be simple. You lousy…" MagnetMan said before receiving a call on his transmitter. "What is it? I'm...what? Son of a… Seems because I wasted time with you two, those brats got away."

"How unfortunate for you, scum." Medusa said.

"We're done here. I gotta hunt down those kids." MagnetMan said flying off.

"No!" Blaziken said as he gave chase.

"Please wait Blaziken!" Medusa said giving chase as well.

Yumi and Odd along with Ulrich had soon reached the factory. But as Yumi and Odd ran in, Ulrich was quickly grabbed by MagnetMan.

"So...wanna be the hero huh?" MagnetMan said before punching him as he began to beat on Ulrich. "I've worked too damn hard for this! We are getting this done whether you like it or…"

"Hey!" A voice shouted as MagnetMan looked to see Sissi at the entrance. "Let him go!"

"Hahaha! This is a joke right? First a dagger woman, then a chicken, now a little girl? I got no problem beating on you." MagnetMan said.

"True...I may be a normal girl but...I have a friend. Rotom!" She shouted as Rotom shot out of her phone and into MagnetMan.

"What the?" MagnetMan said before he started hitting himself.

"Stop hitting yourself! Stop hitting yourself!" Rotom said.

"Damn, you're annoying!" MagnetMan said.

"Okay...I think it's about time I finished this." Rotom said leaving as he flew over to Sissi and enveloped her in an orange armor. "Rotom Armor! Version 1!" he said.

"Some rinky dink armor isn't gonna make a difference." MagnetMan said.

"Electro Ball!" Rotom said firing from the palm an electro ball.

"Magnet Barrier!" MagnetMan said only for the barrier to fizzle as he got hit. "Damn it. The runt shorted out my barrier!" He growled. "I gotta go offensive! Magnet Missile!"

"Discharge!" Rotom said unleashing a discharge destroying the missiles before they hit. "Let's finish this!" he said as both hands were raised as a beam of electricity fired from both. "Charge Beam!" They both shouted piercing through MagnetMan.

"I can't believe...I lost to a human." MagnetMan thought as he fell backwards into the river.

"Well done." A voice said as Medusa and Blaziken approached.

"But...who are you?" Blaziken asked

"Me? I'm...uh...call me...the Electric hero, Motor!" Sissi said with the voice synthesizer on.

"I see, thank you for your help Motor. But what will you do now?" Medusa asked.

"Uh...I must...be going now." Motor said grabbing Ulrich before jumping off.

"An interesting girl that one. Shall we go see if your partner is alright, Blaziken?" Medusa asked.

"No...I cannot see her yet. I must go." Blaziken said jumping off.

"Hmm. Until we meet again. Now then." Medusa said as she began walking to the factory just before a film of light spread out while at the same time Sissi shared a kiss with Ulrich before the day restarted.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" Medusa asked as she walked aboard the Sunny.

"And who might you be?" Volta asked coming up.

"My apologies, my name is Medusa, and I am the reincarnation of Siren. A pleasure." Medusa said as she curtsied.

"Oh, nice to meet you." Volta said. "I'm not used to seeing summons of Ace's like this yet."

"Are there others here? Would you be kind enough to take me to them, Lady Volta?" Medusa asked.

"Yes. There are a couple. This way." Volta said leading them to Vargas and Selena.

"Ifrit. Shiva." Medusa called out as they looked up and were surprised to see Siren in a different form call out to them.

"Siren. Thank goodness you're alright." Selena said relieved.

"Where are the others?" Vargas asked.

"I am not sure. I sense Ramuh somewhere on this world, but I was the only one here when I woke up. But now I am here to fight alongside you and our summoner's side." Medusa said.

"Well we're glad to have you with us. The others are in the dining room. I'm sure Ace and the others will be happy to see you." Selena said as she took Medusa's hand and led her to the dining room where the others were. "Everyone, we have a visitor." She called out.

"Hello everyone. It's been a long time." Medusa said.

"It has indeed Sire… I mean, Medusa. Man, everything's so confusing with this whole reincarnation deal." Ty said.

"You'll get used to it after a while. Don't worry." Medusa said.

"We're already used to it!" Natsu shouted.

"Anyway, her aside. Thanks to Motor's actions, MagnetMan is out of the picture now." Jexi said.

"That just leaves FreezeMan and Viperia." Mayumi said.

"They're the only big threats remaining." Jexi said.

"FreezeMan won't be easy, but we still have no idea what Viperia is gonna do. Then again, it is a kingdom of ninjas." Peko said.

"Yeah. Ninjas. They're gonna be deadly even if they sound awesome." Rainbow said.

"Actually...now that I think of it. They do have an elite ninja strike force. They're called...the five ninja masters." Sinon said. "I heard some soldiers talking about them as I left."

"The king or queen of Viperia will probably have them as their first line of defence." Princess Minerva said.

"It's a queen, known as Golbat. Trust me, she is a ninja master." Bartolomeo said.

"I hope that we can survive all five Ninja Masters and get to Golbat and not have our butts poisoned." Betty said.

"Don't worry about it. If anything, I can probably reduce the poison's quantity in your bloodstream for a less painful outcome." Brandish mentioned.

Mayumi looked up at the sky. "Viperia...we'll be coming soon."


	17. Vertigo

Hope was stretching as the others walked in.

"Hey, Hope. What's going on?" Ace asked.

"I'm just stretching. We're doing the climbing wall for Gym class today." Hope said.

"I see. Well try not to get Vertigo, okay?" Ace asked.

"I won't. I don't climb that fast." Hope said. "You ready for some Rock Climbing, David?"

"Uh huh. I'm a pretty good climber myself, so I shouldn't have too much of a problem." David said.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I can one up the two of you." Asta said.

"Do you have to one up people on everything?" Hope asked.

"Uh, last I checked, you didn't make it past the first round in Furious Sports either." David said.

"Tennis was your forte anyway. Besides, Illuma was way out of most of our leagues." Asta said.

"Tell me about it. It was only through sheer endurance that we were able to beat her." David said.

"Yes you did, but most of the stadium got destroyed in the process, which was accidental." Simon said. "Look, let's not fight amongst ourselves and just have good time at rock climbing, alright?"

"Kinda hard to do when you got people as competitive as these guys." David said.

"Right. But not every sport has to be competitive all the time, sometimes you just enjoy it and have fun. That's all." Simon said.

"Tell that to Ulrich. He's been trying to get the edge over William so much that it's hard to see when he isn't competitive on him." Mayumi said.

"I just hope he doesn't do anything stupid today." Akane said.

Later in Gym class, Odd just finished up his run.

"I'm the King of the World!" Odd valiantly proclaimed.

"Well come on down and let someone else have a turn, "your majesty"." Aluche joked.

Smiling, William went up to Ulrich. "First one to to the top."

"Yeah...you're on." Ulrich said as both started climbing.

"I knew he was gonna do something stupid…" Hope sighed.

"Come on Ulrich! You rule man!" Natsu said.

"Wait, something's up." Wendy said as Ulrich was starting to slow down with his climbing.

"I've seen this before. I think he's getting vertigo. He's afraid of heights, isn't he?" Flamberge asked.

"Definitely. But it looks like he's gonna fall!" Aluche said.

"He's falling." Jesse said.

"I got him!" Aluche said as she dashed in and caught Ulrich in time.

"A girl saved a boy!" One of the boys in class said as they laughed.

"Is it supposed to be that funny?" Aluche asked as she gave them a death glare.

"It's the death of his manhood!" another of them said as they kept it up.

"At least he actually has a girl. How many of you can say that?" David asked.

Many of them just looked away.

"Yeah. That's what I thought." David said. "You doing okay, Ulrich?"

"Fan-tastic. But, thanks for the save, Aluche." Ulrich said.

"No problem. We're just glad you're okay." Aluche said.

"I'm not okay." Ulrich said as he took off running.

"Man… He took it all worse than we thought." David said.

"I'm sorry. I was only trying to help." Aluche said.

"You did the right thing, but Ulrich doesn't take Humiliation well. I don't think any of us do." Indigo said.

"She's right. Just...give him some space. He'll be fine." Lacy said.

"Alright." Aluche said.

"On another note, there's been some sighting of strange things in the woods. I was gonna check it out. Anyone wanna come?" Zexi asked.

"The woods? Yeah, no. Every time one of us goes in there, there's always trouble like a bear or something." Indigo said.

"I will go with you, Sir Zexi." Lilliana said.

"You sure you two will be okay in the forest together?" Flamberge asked. "I'd better come too, just in case a little firepower is needed."

"Alright, thank you Lady Flamberge." Lilliana said.

"Berge, this cannot be stressed enough, but...please be careful out there." Francisca said.

"Chill, Franny. I'll be okay… no pun intended with that Chill reference though…" Flamberge said.

"Let's go." Zexi said as they headed out.

Upon entering the woods, the three of them look around cautiously as Zexi looked at some tracks at the ground.

"Hmm. Several paw prints. And it looks like the same animal. Only one thing...wolves." Zexi said.

"Oh my. What should we do, Sir Zexi?" Lilliana asked.

"It's strange. They normally never come this close to settlements. Something's wrong." Zexi said before they heard croaking. "Huh?" He asked before stepping out were several bipedal frogs with bulging orange cheeks. "Croagunks?"

"Another attack from Viperia? This isn't good." Lilliana said.

"Ah...so we have finally found some of these Dimensional heroes." A voice said as standing on a tree was a purple frog with red claws on its hands. "I am Toxicroak of the five ninja masters. Now...you die!" he said leaping down.

"Ultimate Color Blinding Fist!" Zexi said punching at Toxicroak as he jumped back covering his eyes.

"Sir Zexi, we must fall back and let the others know!" Lilliana said.

"No way! If my master were here, he'd stand and fight!" Zexi said.

"Yes, but we're completely outnumbered here. Even if we fought them all we may not have enough energy to escape." Lilliana said.

"I'm not running either." Flamberge said.

"If I were to run here...I have no right calling myself Jexi's successor!" Zexi shouted.

"If I ran, how could I face my siblings, and call myself the Bringer of Flame?" Flamberge asked. " Lillianna, you have to understand, you can't run if there's something you can fight for."

"I...suppose you're right. If I run now, I wouldn't be able to look Al and Rue in the eye. I shall fight too then." Lilliana said.

"Attack!" Toxicroak ordered as the Croagunk jumped at them.

"Ultimate Color Whirlwind Kicker!" Zexi shouted swinging a leg sending them all flying.

"We're not letting you get away!" Lilliana said as she stopped time around Toxicroak, freezing him. "Lady Flamberge, now!"

"You've got it! Burning Spiral!" Flamberge called as she flew like a flaming torpedo at the Toxicroak. "Zexi, the final blow is all yours!"

"Ultimate Color…" Zexi said bringing his arms back. "Final Launch!" He shouted hitting Toxicroak sending him flying very far away.

"Sir Zexi, Lady Flamberge, we did it." Lilliana said as she took hold of each of their hands and smiled.

"That leaves only four ninja masters, right?"

"But first...anyone of you guys wanna be next?" Zexi asked the remaining Croagunk before they ran.

"Guess not." Flamberge said.

"Hard to believe there were ninja waiting for us. That was awesome." Zexi said.

"Awesome? We almost died of poison. But this is you, after all." Flamberge said.

"But we managed to push through against them. Let's head back, I think the others are waiting for us." Lilliana said.

"I think that might wait." Zexi said seeing wolves starting to surround them. "Seems they were waiting for us to finish before they strike."

"Not good." Flamberge said as the wolves pounced on them. But before they could bite, they froze for a moment before some vanished as others fell to the ground as a black substance left their bodies. "Huh?"

"XANA must've possessed these poor wolves to attack us, but it seems Aelita managed to deactivate the tower that was used." Lilliana said.

"Good… I didn't wanna hurt animals today." Flamberge said. "What? The Kingdoms are an execption!"

"We weren't thinking about that." Zexi said.

"I know it's just that…" Flamberge said.

"Hey, you have your business, we have ours." Zexi said. "Let's just head home."

"Yes. I'm sure the others will be happy to hear we defeated one of the Ninja Masters. Although, they be worried as well." Lilliana said as a white dome expanded, taking them back to Ulrich's rock climbing match against William.

"So how'd it go you three?" Aluche asked.

"Perfectly. One of the ninjas is taken care off. Nothing to worry about." Flamberge said.

"And there's still 4 remaining, but we will be able to deal with them, hopefully." Lilliana said.

"No...we can deal with them." Zexi said.

"Isn't that what I said, Sir Zexi?" Lilliana asked.

"There was some doubt in what you said." Zexi said.

"Sorry. I know we will able to deal with them, we just have to be careful about it, that's all." Lilliana said.

"And they call me overcautious." David said as he caught Ulrich as he fell.

"I'm sorry. I'm not very good at bringing people's spirits up." Lilliana said.

"It's okay. Were still happy you're part of Ace's team. You're a great friend." Hope said.

"Thank you, everyone." Lilliana said before she and the others saw Ulrich pull out a spider, frightening William.

"Who would've thought that William is afraid of spiders? Way to exploit that, Ulrich." Flamberge said.

"Yep. Looks like Ol' Spider Man and I are even now." Ulrich said.

"Color Gods, I love those pop culture references." David said.

"Speaking of, Aelita actually turned completely invisible before we fixed the cure we programmed." Miu said.

"She could've been like Sue from the Fantastic 4." Aluche said.

"I'm just glad she's back to normal. But it's back to the drawing board for that Anti-Virus." Hope said.

"Looks like it. We'll find a cure for the virus...someday." Miu said.


	18. Cold War

During the night in the Ice Sector, a tower activates. The alarm goes off in response, but there was no sign of the towers activation.

The day following said activation, as the group went about their normal business…

"Ah..choo!" Tulip said sneezing. "Ugh. Anyone else feeling cold today?"

"A little bit, do you think there's something wrong in Lyoko?" Saaya asked.

"I dunno but I think I'm gonna stay indoors." Tulip said heading inside.

"What's with her?" Hope asked.

"Apparently elves are super sensitive to changes in nature." Sam said.

"He's right, even though there's a cold breeze in the air. I don't detect any supernatural disturbances." Medusa said as she approached wearing a sweater, glasses, pants, and black boots. "Hello children. I'll be joining as a Greek Mythology teacher for the rest of our time here."

"You sure it's a good idea to let her teach here? I mean, she doesn't seem like a kid friendly person." Jack whispered.

"No need to worry, I'm only sadistic when fighting my enemies so need to worry. Hehehe." Medusa said as she laughed kindly. "Besides, it'll be good to teach you all about many things from Greek Mythology." She said as she lightly pinched Jack's cheek before letting go.

Hope chuckled a bit at what he saw.

"Ta ta for now children~." Medusa sang a bit at the end before leaving.

"Wow… she's very, nice and motherly." Nana said.

"Well she is the reincarnation of Siren, but she also has memories of her new form as Medusa." Roy said.

"Yeah, well I still don't trust her." Jack said. "And will someone turn up the heater? It's freezing in here!"

"Yeah it is a bit cold. And why don't you trust Medusa?" Simon asked.

"She's named after an evil serpent woman. I think that's a red flag on it's own." Jack said.

"She may be named after one of the three Gorgon Sisters, but she is still Siren at heart." Azura said before leaving.

"Uh, back to Jack's point, it's freezing in here! What the heck is going on outside, a cold storm?" Hope asked.

"I'll just open a window and let a little sun in." Pinkie said doing so only for snow to be rushing in.

"Shut it! Shut it!" Dan shouted before he shut the window.

"Do you think XANA's launched an attack?" Aya asked rubbing her arms together.

"If that's true, why didn't the alarm go off?" Miu wondered.

"Maybe one of the activated towers went on and off for some reason." Al said.

"I think we have bigger problems then that." Twilight said checking the temperature. "It's -4 degrees."

"-4 degrees?! You've gotta be kidding me!" Saki said in shock.

"No joke. And it doesn't look like the decrease in temperatures stopping either. This keeps up, we'll be living in a new ice age." Twilight said.

"Miu, can you check to see if there's an activated tower or not? Because there's no way this is normal weather." Mari said.

"I think we have bigger problems. We can't even get to the factory in this weather, unless you wanna freeze to death." Hope said.

"I don't know if my fire magic is gonna help us get through, I can try to put a barrier of fire around us, but I don't know if it'll work." Vargas said.

"Yeah, and even my fire isn't hot enough to withstand this deep freeze." Flamberge said.

'It doesn't matter how cold it is. If we do nothing, XANA wins. So get on some winter clothes. We're going out there." Zexi said.

"Wait, how come David and the others aren't affected by this?" Jesse asked.

"Because we're ice users. We're used to the cold." David said.

"Then those who's natural element is ice have a chance to get to the factory without freezing to death." Selena said.

"So that means Francisca, David, Sayuri, Gray, Yusuke, Al, and Selena have to get over there." Hope said.

"Alright, you can count on us. Are you and the others ready, David?" Selena asked.

"Of course we are." David said.

"Alright then, to the factory!" Selena said as she and the others headed to the factory.

"We must hurry! Even in cold weather, you all could still catch a cold or even freeze to death." Sayuri said.

"Yes. Even though I died once, it won't stop me from helping you and everyone else!" Selena said.

"You realize that counts you too, right?" Gray said.

"Stop it! Look, we're almost there." Francisca said as they got into the factory. "Strange Viperia didn't attack."

"Its likely too cold for them to strike. This is a blessing. Let's hurry to Lyoko and settle this icy business." Yusuke said.

"Can do." David said.

It didn't take long for Jeremie, Aelita and Odd to follow after and for them to hurry to Lyoko.

"Of course the tower is in the coldest place on Lyoko." Gray said as they arrived in the ice sector. "At least there doesn't seem to be any obstacles."

They then heard a loud screeching.

"What was that?" David asked.

"I know that sound." Francisca said as rising from the digital sea were several mantas. "Mantas? Outside of Sector 5?!"

"XANA must've found a way to bring them here somehow." Al said.

"This could be a problem." Yusuke said as the Manta's started releasing mines as they flew over the land.

"We'll have to clear a path for Aelita so she can get to the tower. Any ideas on how to do it?" Al asked.

"We need to distract the mantas somehow." Yusuke said. "No...distraction isn't good enough. I'll go and see about eliminating them. You focus on the mines." He said leaping up as he jumped from mine to mine as he landed on a manta. He stabbed it with his katana. "You are in my service right now." he said steering it.

"That's clever of him, taking control of one!" Al said.

"As for clearing the mines...all we need is to take out a center one and it'll cause a chain reaction." Francisca said.

"Alright, allow me." Selena said as she formed a small sphere of water before firing it out as a thin laser towards a mine in the center, causing a chain reaction.

"Nice shot. We got a clear path." Gray said. "Let's hurry before they reset."

"Yes. The tower is just up ahead." Selena said as they continued on as the tower was in sight as they hurried and got Aelita inside the tower.

"Alright, mission accomplished." Al said.

"Okay, but Yumi's been hurt so...Return to the Past, now!" Jeremie said activating the RTTP.

The day soon restarted as the group was back at the school.

"Hello children, it looks like some of you have saved the day." Medusa said as she approached.

"Tell us something we don't know." Al said.

"I'll be teaching you about the origins of the three gorgon sisters. Until then, have a good day~." Medusa said as she walked away.

"Wow…" Hope said.

"What is it, Hope?" Al asked.

"Still astonished that woman's teaching? Or is it something else?" Jack asked.

"I think she's the ultimate Mother figure a teacher would die to have as a personality." Hope said.

"Be careful how you phrase that." David said. "I still can't believe we have to deal with Thomas Vincent again. But… I know how to put the guy in his place."

"Yup, I think it's time he'd be taught a lesson." Al said grinning devilishly.

"Meet me in the lunchroom after morning classes." David said.

"Alright, see you then." Mari said.

In the lunchroom…

"Okay...we're set, David. Thomas is headed your way." Ann said on her comm.

"Alright." David said walking to Rosa and whispering to her before moving up the line.'

"Gimme those meatballs, sweetie." Thomas said. David winks to Rosa, causing her to dump the whole pot of meatballs on Thomas.

"Haha. Now that is classic revenge right there." Jack said seeing Thomas storm out.

"Akane and Luffy may be mad at David for wasting those meatballs, but it was definitely worth it." Al said.

"Indeed. Let us never speak of this to those two meat hounds." Rarity said.

"Hahaha!" Al laughed as the others laughed as well.

"Yeah...this will be remembered for years to come." Rainbow said.


	19. Deja Vu

It was currently night time at Kadic and while everyone was asleep at the dorms, a scream was heard coming from the restroom.

"What in the? What was that? A banshee?" Ruby asked.

"No, I think it was a girl." Rainbow said.

"That was Aelita, something must be wrong." Liliana said as she ran to the girls bathroom.

"Liliana, wait! We're not supposed to be up this late at night." Francisca tried to warn but she was long gone.

"Aelita, are you alright?" Liliana asked as she entered the bathroom and saw Aelita crying.

"What's going on...aw come on!" Jim said entering. "You know the rules. No one is suppose to be out this late past curfew."

"I'm sorry, Jim. Aelita wasn't feeling well and I came to see if she was alright. I'm sorry." Lilliana said.

"And Sissi, what're you doing in here?" Vector asked.

"She.. well she woke me up." Sissi admitted.

"She woke all of us up." Rainbow said pointing to the other girl students.

"All right, let's go." Jim said escorting her away.

The next morning…

"What was up with Aelita last night? She doesn't normally scream like that. She hasn't since those nightmares." Rainbow said.

"When I found her in the restroom, she was crying for some reason." Liliana said. "You don't think she's having nightmares again, do you?"

"It's likely if she's running to the bathroom at night." Lacy said.

"Indeed, and it's only going to get worse. I just hope Aelita doesn't do anything rash." Francisca said.

"Yes, me too." Liliana said as she clasped her hands together to her chest.

"Luckily, we're going to the pool today so maybe things won't be so bad." Gemina said.

"Yeah, swimming is fun, right?" Rainbow asked.

"Eh...count me out. I'm gonna be busy doing another hunt in the forest. Try and find more of those ninja masters." Zexi said.

"You sure you should be skipping so many classes?" Harumi asked.

"Eh...not like I needed school before." Zexi said.

"Well, well, what do we have here? A young boy skipping out on his classes? How naughty." Medusa said as she stood behind him.

"Medusa?" Rainbow asked.

"Hello children, how are you all this morning?" Medusa asked as she smiled at them.

"We're fine. But Zexi's planning on hunting for those ninja masters...by himself...again." Harumi said.

"Hey, I did it last time and things turned out well." Zexi said.

"You weren't by yourself. Berge and Lilianna were with you that time." Francisca said.

"Say no more. I understand, and as punishment...I will go with him." Medusa said as she smiled at Zexi.

"Wait, no detention, no consequences? You're just gonna accompany Zexi to find the other Ninja Masters?" Flamberge asked.

"Well, on the plus side, someone's keeping an eye on him." Mayumi said.

"Hmmhmm. Of course. Well then, shall we go my little troublemaker?" Medusa asked as she lightly pinched Zexi's cheek.

"Hmm. I better go with them. Just to make sure they don't kill one another." Harumi said.

"Of course. The more the merrier~." Medusa said as she clasped her hands together next to her cheek as she smiled.

"Anyone else feel like Medusa's acting like a mother more than a teacher to us?" Hope asked.

"Pretty much, when she's at school she's like a mother but when in battle *shudder*." Simon said.

"Don't remind me." David said. "Be careful out there, sis."

"Don't worry, brother. We can handle it." Harumi said.

"Off we go then." Medusa said as she transformed into her battle mode and they headed to the forest. "Hmm…"

"There's definitely several footprints in the ground. Looks like we have one...no two different groups. Which could mean two ninja masters." Zexi said.

"Zexi, Harumi, the enemy and their footsoldiers are hiding in the trees. Get ready." Medusa said as she drew her chain daggers.

"Trees? No, they'd likely be expecting that of us to assume. Yet there are clawmarks here. Unless...get down now!" Zexi shouted as they ducked down as Poison Sting attacks flew from the bushes far ahead.

"Dang it! Our ambush failed." A voice said.

"That was smart. You all marked the trees on purpose to make us think you were in the trees. It was clever...but not good enough." Zexi said as several Nidoran, Nidorino and Nidorina walked out.

"Hmm… Zexi, Harumi, leave the foot soldiers to me. The two leaders are all yours." Medusa said.

"Alright. I've got Nidorina." Harumi said getting her knives out.

"Now then, I'll make this quick." Medusa said as a magic aura formed around her and a flash of light engulfed her along with the soldiers into a pocket dimension as a horse whinny was heard and she was seen on a Pegasus. "Shall I gently kick you around?" She asked before taking to the skies and came swooping down with the speed of a shooting star. "Bellerophon!" She yelled as she pierced through, causing an explosion to occur as it took out the foot soldiers.

"She took out all the foot soldiers in one swoop?" Nidorino said.

"Yeah...she's strong and monstrous that way!" Zexi said nailing a punch on Nidorino sending him through several trees.

"Yeah… I don't think you're one to talk." Harumi said as she kept fighting Nidorina. "Now...mind telling me your business?"

"We were sent to recapture the prisoners that fool Monferno let escape. That's all." Nidorina said.

"Prisoners? They escaped already?" Harumi asked.

"I can't remember them all, but...one of them was a girl, ice blue eyes, and black hair in a ponytail." Nidorina said.

"That description… Sachiko? She's here?" Harumi asked.

"We had her and a couple other prisoners too...then that idiot Monferno had to go and let his pride get the better of him and launch an attack." Nidorina said.

"That actually makes sense. He wanted revenge on a friend of mine, or more specifically, of my brother's." Harumi said. "Thank you for such valuable information." she said. "Assassination Arts: Spider's Bite!" she said slashing Nidorina with two daggers and defeating her.

"Well...that looks like all of them." Zexi said.

"But it's strange… if there were Nidorino and Nidorina, then shouldn't there have been a Nidoking and Nidoqueen leading them?" Medusa asked.

"We are the leaders, you stupid…" Nidorino began before Zexi hit him again, knocking him out.

"Keep your opinions about monster teach to yourself." Zexi said.

"But still, it would seem strange. Normally the fully evolved Pokemon would be leading them, just as Medusa said." Harumi said.

"You don't think it could be perhaps a diversion, do you?" Medusa asked.

"Nah, they may be masters of stealth, but even they wouldn't pull something like that." Harumi said. "Still… Nidorina said that Sachiko is in this world. But if she's already escaped, then...where could she have gone?"

"Hmm. Let us return to the school and tell the others what we've learned." Medusa said.

"Yeah...then you can tell the others about this Sachiko woman." Zexi said.

Back at Kadic, Aelita's visions had affected her to the point where she had to go to Sector 5, insisting she go alone.

"Aelita went to Sector 5 alone? That doesn't seem right…" Hope said.

"Given all the visions she's been experiencing, she could be delirious." Twilight said.

"That's what we thought too. We tried to talk her out of it, but she kept at it." Ross said.

"Either way...we should at least follow. Just to keep her safe. After all, Sector 5 is XANA territory." Lacy said.

"She's right. We gotta go after her." Hope said.

Meanwhile in Sector 5, Aelita walked down a hall as she approached FreezeMan.

"You have come. I take it, you wish for answers." He said.

"Yes. Please...tell me what is my relation with Franz Hopper?" Aelita asked.

"In due time, but...all information comes at a price." FreezeMan said as the Scyphozoa appeared and started stealing her memory. "CutMan...MagnetMan...both my comrades slain at the hands of your allies. At least this will be some form of retribution. Their deaths will not be in vain."

"Let her go!" a voice shouted as Hope ran at him as FreezeMan blocked with an ice wall.

"This was expected. I had figured you Dimensional Heroes wouldn't just sit back while she surrendered herself." FreezeMan said.

"Ah, great! Now nothing's stopping the Scyphozoa from sapping Aelita's memories!" Hope said.

"He gave up too easily. Something isn't right. This one is the continuer. Which means…" FreezeMan said turning around seeing another person run at the Scyphozoa behind him.

"You should see about getting eyes in the back of your head." Jesse said slashing at the Scyphozoa's tentacles making it retreat as he caught Aelita.

"You fools...you will not leave here alive. Any of you!" FreezeMan said as ice was starting to spread over the room.

"And we just made him mad." Hope said. "What's so important that FreezeMan wants Aelita's memories put into the Scyphozoa?"

"I dunno but I rather not find out." Jesse said as they ran with Aelita as the ice followed them.

"Dammit, where the hell's our backup? I thought it was three man, not two man." Hope said running.

"Don't panic. I see the elevator!" Jesse said as the lift appeared as they jumped in and it took off just as the ice reached the edge. "Whew… That was close."

"Way too close." Hope said. "I can't believe we pulled it off."

"Yep. But we're not out of the woods yet. We need to get to the Desert Sector and deactivate the tower." Jesse said.

"Aelita, you up for a deactivation run?" Hope asked.

"Yes...I think I can make it there." Aelita said.

It didn't take long before they reached the desert as they hurried towards the tower.

"This is gonna be the long haul. And…" Hope said as Aelita got into the tower. "Yes! Score!"

"I didn't know you were a football fan." Jesse said.

"Hey, I love the NFL. And the World cup is going on currently, so there's also that." Hope said.

"Yeah, that's true. Still, can't believe we actually pulled that off." Jesse said.

"Yep. Now we can call it a day." Hope said.

Later on the sunny…

"So the prisoners all escaped?" David asked.

"Yeah. Nidorina confirmed it for us. Apparently they escaped when Monferno went ape on us." Zexi said.

"Along with a girl named Sachiko." Medusa said.

"Sachiko? She's here?" David asked.

"Yes, Nidorina confirmed it. But her current location is unknown. Don't worry, we'll find her." Medusa said.

"Hey David, who's this Sachiko girl?" Nana asked.

"She was a classmate of mine when I was still in school. I admit, I'm both surprised and relieved that she survived." David said.

"Hmm. From the sound of things, she definitely sounds like one of the prisoners I heard in those dungeons." Sinon said.

"Did she have black hair in a ponytail and ice blue eyes? About 5'7", athletic looking?" David asked.

"Her description exactly." Harumi said. "It has to be her."

"But the question is...why did Pandora pull her here?" Mayumi asked.

"No clue. Maybe she wanted a High School reunion?" Connor guessed before he was knocked out by Skyler.

"This is no time for jokes!" Skyler said. "Now that she's escaped, she could be anywhere in this world."

"She's gotta be still in town along with the other prisoners. Sinon...do you have an accurate number on how many?" Hope asked.

"It sounded like about 3 or 4." Sinon said.

"So we should go and look for them, wherever they are." Ty said.

"And there's the other ninja masters. If they find them first, they'll try to capture them again." Ming said.

"We can't let that happen. One of them is David's friend and we have to look for her and the other prisoners ASAP." Linde said.

"Speaking of girls, did anyone catch wind of Odd's online pal?" Petra asked.

"Yep. Turns out it was Sissi the whole time. He was shocked when he found out." Makoto said.

"Yeah...now he's avoiding her...for awhile at least." Sam said.

"Yep. Just another day in Kadic." David said.


	20. Tip Top Shape

Francisca was looking nervous as she was lined up in the Administrative Building.

"Is something wrong, Francisca?" Harumi asked.

"Yeah… Most of the students are getting physical checkups today. I'm nervous because my sisters and I don't exactly have any medical records." Francisca said.

"Don't be worried, Franny. I'm sure we'll all have perfect health in our new bodies, right Zan?" Flamberge asked.

"Indeed. So there's no need to worry, Franny." Zan reassured.

"Besides, medical records were included when Tails made our student records." Twilight said.

"But the one that's the most worried is Aelita. She wasn't exactly human all that long." Harumi said.

"That's right. She was admitted here when she materialized in the real world. No records, no vaccinations, nothing." Kaede said.

"After today's check up, we're planning on making some medical records for her." Miu said.

"Let's just hope nothing goes wrong in the process." Madoka said.

"I'm sure things will go fine...I think." Ranma said.

Just then Aelita was heard screaming inside the Nurse's office.

"And there's the I think." Ranma said as he ran into the nurses to see the nurse possessed by XANA as she grabbed Aelita and jumped out the window. "Dang it!"

"And I thought I'm the one who jinxes the situation." Hope said.

"XANA's possessions are getting stronger and stronger. We can't last against them." David said as he texted Jeremie.

"Hmm… I think I might have an idea." Miu said.

"Well, don't just stand there gawking, spill." Kokichi said.

"Jeremie and I have been coming up with ideas of our own ghosts possessing you guys. Therefore, you can fight the people XANA controls on equal terms." Miu said.

"You mean activating a tower ourselves? Isn't that a bit risky?" Kaede asked.

"I know what you guys are thinking, but unlike XANA's ghosts, you'll be in complete control and maintain your free will." Miu said. "And unfortunately the process is limited to one person per tower."

"Plus there's the chance that XANA and Gospel could take control of both you and Jeremie's towers and make things worse." Korekiyo said.

"It's risky, I know, but this test is the only way we'll have a fighting chance." Miu said.

"Fine...test it on Odd then. He'd probably make good work of the power boost." Dan said.

"Alright. I'll just have to bring him to the factory so I can get to work." Miu said.

"We'll be counting on you. Right now we have to slow down that possessed Nurse." Al said.

"So much for our first physical exam…" Flamberge said as she leaped out the window.

"You'll get your chance once we fix this mess." Francisca said following them.

The group followed Yolanda the Nurse to the Factory. On the way there…a young woman is seen running through the forest with what looked like a young man with yellow hair.

"Not much longer now, Eze. Once we reach the school, someone is bound to help us drive off those Pokemon." The woman spoke.

"Yeah, and I can tell my summoner is here as well, we need to hurry. I just hope the others are alright, Sachiko." The man known as Eze said.

"I admit, I'm worried, too. But they're stronger than they look. They'll be fine." Sachiko said. "Though...I get the feeling we aren't alone."

"Yeah..I feel it too." Eze said. "Jump!" He said as they did as coming out of the ground were several purple snakes with rattles on their tails along with an Arbok leading them.

"Ekans and Arbok. Seems they were following us underground." Sachiko said.

"Two of the escaped prisonerssssss. Sssseems thisssss is my lucky day." the Arbok said.

"Don't get so cocky, snake. You won't find us easy opponents." Eze said as he summoned a large jagged saw like sword in his left hand and a fan in the right as they both surged with lightning as a ring of thunder drums appeared behind him. "As the reincarnation of Ramuh, I Eze of the Six Heroes shall strike you down! Sachiko, you with me?"

"Of course." Sachiko said as two daggers appeared in her hands.

"Get them! Use Acid!" Arbok ordered as the Ekans started firing acid at them as it was melting away at the trees it hit.

"Man you're lousy shots. Brave Burst, Fulgore Caelestis!" Eze yelled out as he slammed his sword Batootha onto the ground as a large lightning bolt struck two of the Ekans.

"Who said we were trying to aim for you?" Arbok asked them smirking.

"What is he… Eze, they were aiming at the trees to block our escape route!" Sachiko said.

"Yesss. A way to make sure you don't run. Also...to make it easier to capture you. Toxic!" Arbok said as they started spewing toxic liquids around the area.

"Super Brave Burst, Varze Superbia!" Eze called out as he summoned a cyclone with his fan as surged with lightning as it sucked in some of the Ekans and acid.

"Eze, stop!" Sachiko said.

"Why? What...Ahh!" Eze shouted as some of his veins had purple in them.

"Poison. We've been poisoned." Sachiko said.

"Yessss….itssss a special little trap we do for all escapees. Firssst we cut off an escape route. Then we'll use Toxic to poison them. Don't worry, we will give an antidote...after we return you to your cellssss of course." Arbok said.

"Like hell. Gale Blade!" Sachiko called out as she performed a three-hit combo on Arbok.

"You little...you have no chance of essscape!" Arbok said before they saw some of the trees breaking apart. "What in the?"

"Hiyah!" a voice said as a tree broke in half as coming in was Chopper in Kung fu point.

"A giant animal!" An Ekans said.

"Wait...he's one of the Dimensional Heroes!" Arbok said.

"Huh? A...a walking reindeer?" Sachiko asked.

"Chopper! Boy are we glad to see you!" Eze said.

"Huh? Am I supposed to know you?" Chopper asked going into normal point.

"It's me, Ramuh." Eze said.

"Huh? Whaaaaaoowww!" Chopper said with interest. "So you became a super strange warrior person like Shiva and the other guy!"

"Yup, that's right! But also, do you have any remedies we can use? We've been poisoned." Eze said.

"Correction, Eze. YOU poisoned us." Sachiko said. "But...anyway, my name is Sachiko Yukimura. I wish we'd introduce ourselves better, but we're kind of in a situation right now."

"It's okay. I'm a doctor. I can get rid of the poison." Chopper said.

"Rah...I will swallow you whole!" Arbok said coming at them.

"Horn Point!" Chopper said as his antlers grew as he dug underground.

"He turned into a stag beetle now?" Arbok pondered.

"Horn Cannon: Elf!" Chopper shouted as he rammed into Arbok sending him into the air. "Sachiko!"

"On it! Sparrow Counter!" Sachiko called as she slashed up in the air, and then did a cross slash, sending Arbok downward.

"She...she defeated Arbok!" one of the Ekans said before they went slithering off in terror.

"Whew… That should get them off our backs for a while." Sachiko said. "Chopper, was it? Thanks for the help."

"No problem. I better take you two back to the ship. I need to administer an antidote for the poison." Chopper said.

"Gotcha. Lead the way." Sachiko said.

Meanwhile, the others had reached the factory as Odd was subjected to Jeremie's new program, turning him into a Specter for their side. However, Odd's power boost only lasted for about 15-20 minutes before his power suddenly started draining.

"Miu, I'm losing power. Is that supposed to happen?" Odd asked.

"Um… Well…" Miu started.

"That's what I thought. You're using your 'I hate to say it, but you bombed the exam' voice." Odd said as he started running.

"Wonderful, the Ghost program only lasts for 20 minutes tops before it slowly drains out. It's like the Fusion Technique, only this was 20 minutes instead of 30." Hope said.

"Dragon Ball Z? Seriously? N-never mind that. At this rate, XANA is going to gain the advantage over Odd." Miu said before there's an alert. "And XANA just took control of my tower, great."

"So that means Yolanda's even stronger than before." Flamberge said.

"Not if we have anything to say about it. The tower I took control of is in the Mountain Sector." Miu said.

"Looks like he's pumping more life force energy into Odd." Merlin said. "This is bad. For a normal human...this will likely kill him."

"That means we don't have much time. You're going to have to make a detour." Miu said.

"Berge and I will stay here and clean up the mess then." Francisca said.

"Yeah! You guys go to the mountains and deactivate the tower. We'll clean up the mess with the Gearheads here." Flamberge said pointing to the Crab, Kankerlats and Blocks.

"Alright, I'll help Aelita and Yumi regain control of the tower in the Mountain Sector, please Franny, Berge, be careful." Zan said before flying away.

"Its us and them now, Ulrich." Flamberge said. "But I think we're outnumbered 5 to 3."

"I can fix that. Triplicate!" Ulrich said splitting into three.

"I'll take the Blockheads. Franny, you get Krabby over there." Flamberge said.

"You've got it." Francisca said.

Flamberge, Fransisca and the three Ulrich's split up as they took on the enemies from each side.

Flamberge sliced a block in two as she kicked another over the edge, the third tried to stop her with its Freeze Ray, but after a successful hit, Flamberge escaped by suddenly regulating her body temperature and shattering her way out.

"Cool! I can control my body heat!" Flamberge said as she and Ulrich double impacted the Block as it exploded.

Francisca took to the air and swung her axe at the Krab, slicing it in two as it was destroyed. She then proceeded to shoot ice shards at the other Krab, destroying that one as well.

'Hurry up, Aelita." Flamberge said as Aelita made it into the tower and deactivated it.

"Okay...looks like my tower got shut down." Miu said. "Ulrich and the others should have the Forest tower cleared up by now, so make your way back there."

"It definitely wasn't easy, what with XANA erasing some of the Sector and putting fog in." Yumi said.

"Indeed. I'm just glad we made it in time." Zan said.

"Um, guys? XANA's still got Yolanda." Miu said.

"Alright, we're on our way." Zan said as she, Aelita, and Yumi headed to the Forest Sector.

"You better hurry. We don't have a lot of time before she gets to us. Or at least finishes off Odd." Connor said.

"Don't say things like that!" Mari said as she bonked Connor on the head with a frying pan.

"Ow! Why does she always do that?!" Connor asked. "Better question, why do all the girls keep hitting me?!"

"Maybe...because you say things the wrong way and it ends up upsetting them." Spade said.

"You're right. I seriously need some help with talking to girls that keep hitting me…" Connor said.

"At least you don't give Connor a hard time, Betty." Hope said.

"That's cause we've been together for a few years. I'm not below hitting him because we've done so much. But I agree with him, he needs help talking to girls that sadly AREN'T just me." Betty said.

"Will you two stop the old married couple routine and get serious? We're still in...aw crud." Pit said as the nurse had made it up the elevator. "Don't hurt us!"

She was about to strike before the ghostly presence within her left as she collapsed to the ground.

"Just in time, Aelita." Connor said.

"Yeah, now we just need to get Yolanda out of here and back to school." Simon said.

"We'll still need to explain why she jumped out with Aelita so suddenly." Harumi said.

"We'll say it was the stress of work that made her go into a frenzy like that. Sounds like a likely excuse." Volt said.

"Yup and it's because she wanted to get fresh air and take Aelita with her." Al added.

"Fair enough." Volt said.

After Yolanda has recovered, the groups went back to the Sunny where they meet the new arrivals.

"Sachiko!" Harumi said as she ran to her.

"Guys? You're here, too?" Sachiko asked.

"Trust me. We were as surprised as you. What happened to you? How did you get here?" David asked.

"Well… After Dragon was defeated and Akihabara was restored, I joined the tennis club. I was on my way home from practice, and before I knew it, I ended up in a Viperia cell." Sachiko said. "Thankfully me and some of the prisoners tricked the guard into surrendering the cell keys and we escaped and separated to try and find some way back home."

"I'm...still surprised that you managed to survive the Tragedy until then." David said.

"Oh come now. You of all people should know by now that I'm a lot tougher than I look. Chopper showed up earlier and helped me defeat one of the ninja masters pursuing us." Sachiko said.

"Yup. And he managed to bring us back here thankfully." Eze said. "Also, I am glad to see you and everyone else are safe, Ty."

"I'm sorry, do we know you… wait a second…" Ty said. "Are you a Reincarnation?"

"That's right. Name's Eze now and I'm the reincarnation of Ramuh. And also a member of the Six Heroes." Eze said.

"Once we escaped, the two of us ran together until Arbok trapped us." Sachiko said.

"She even used moves like Gale Blade and Sparrow Counter." Chopper said.

"That sounds a lot like...Haseo." Kirito said.

"That's right. While I was hiding out in the Tragedy, a light hit me and I ended up gaining the moveset of the Terror of Death himself, Haseo." Sachiko said.

"Ah, that explains it." Asuna said. "Though… That does make your Awakening conditional."

"Conditional? How?" Sachiko asked.

"Enhanced go through Awakenings to gain access to the most powerful techniques of the people they got their abilities from." Mayumi said.

"Yes, but Haseo has an Avatar called Skeith. Unfortunately, you won't be able to go through an Awakening unless you have a Skeith of your own." Seryu said.

"And it's not like we can actually meet him, since he's a virus from an MMORPG." Rainbow said.

"I see… That does pose quite the problem." Sachiko said.

"We don't need to worry about an awakening right now. Tell us, counting you and...the show off...how many other prisoners were with you?" Jexi asked.

"There were two, but we seperated, so I don't know where they went." Sachiko said.

"Aside from the insult, I'm sure they're safe." Eze said.

"Hey… Sachiko. Since you don't have anywhere else to go at the moment, why not come with us?" David asked.

"I'd be more than happy to. We have a lot to catch up on anyway." Sachiko said. "Though, I'm sure my family would be worried about me."

"If you're worried about them, we can write them a letter once this whole thing is finished." David said. "That's how we check up on our folks back home."

"Welcome to the Hero Alliance, Sachiko." Ty said. "And uh… welcome back I guess, Eze."

"Uh...yeah, not the best way to greet someone you haven't seen in a while." Eze said.

"Sorry. This whole reincarnation thing is really throwing me for a loop." Ty said.

"It's...a little hard to get used to." Sectonia said.

"But you got used to us after a while, right?" Selena asked as she held Zelos's hand while referring to Vargas, Medusa, and herself.

"In your case, it's because you've already been connected with someone when you were still a summon." Mayumi said.

"That is true." Selena said. "It was when I first met you all in Valentia, correct?"

"Yep. When you almost turned me into an ice statue." Zelos said.

"Zelos was still a little bitter about that moment because of his childhood trauma with his mother's death." Lloyd said.

"Oh, I am so sorry if I hurt you in anyway, Zelos. Do you forgive me?" Selena asked.

"Of course I do. I knew you didn't mean anything ill by it. I should've just given you some space that time." Zelos said.

"But at any rate, there's still one more ninja master to deal with and two more prisoners to find." Hope said.

"Agreed. And after that...we're dealing with Viperia head on." Jexi said.


	21. Is Anybody Out There?

While the group were helping Sachiko get used to things, Leia spots something on the newspaper.

"Hey, guys! Check this out!" Leia said. "It says here that when Kadic Academy was built in 1905, a construction worker by the name of Leon Corbet was buried alive under the foundation of the school's boiler room."

"Huh. What else does it say, Leia?" Aya asked.

"Uh...nothing. That's all about it. But kids have started rumors about his ghost still haunting the old boiler room." Leia said.

"Ghost stories? Please tell me you aren't buying that crud." Jack said.

"We've seen a lot of crazy stuff in the other worlds but Jack-in-the box is right. It's probably just a superstition." Saki said.

"Besides, rumor or not, it's not like we know anyone that would go straight to the occult with this." Jesse said.

"I think I know who would." Simon said as he pointed to Sissi who was reading the article with an excited look on her face.

"Yeah, girls use these sort of ghost rumors all the time either to scare a new kid or to get close to a kid they love." Jack said.

"Like Ulrich for example?" Roy asked.

"Who else would she get? Either way, let's use it against her and give her a good scare." Jack said.

"I made a recording just for the occasion." Mari said as she held out a disk and cd player.

"Leave it to Mari to invent something for the occasion." Aluche said.

"Yeah...and I can handle the scares." Jack said. "Stealth is a specialty of mine."

"Mmhmm. You are a master thief after all." Al said.

"Not master...but I am a thief." Jack smirked.

Later that night, as preparations were being made in the school, just outside of campus, a figure soon approached the grounds.

"A school? Finally, civilization. Maybe I can see about asking someone for help." They said running inside as unknown to them, several scorpion like creature and a large scorpion were not far behind.

"Heh. Did you really think you could get away?" The large one said to himself. "Get in the school, my Skorupi. Make sure she doesn't get away." He said.

Meanwhile in the school…

"Looks like they're in place." Jack said. "Now, to get into character." He said getting into an construction worker uniform. "Add a little gray face powder...perfect."

"This is gonna be epic." Mari whispered with an evil smirk.

"Yeah. Just hope they'll buy it." Jack said before hearing the boiler inside shake and rattle as steam hissed as the kids screamed.

"A little much, huh Jack?" Jesse asked.

"Uh...I didn't do that." Jack said.

Just then a black substance came out of it as formed into a spectral like figure.

"This can't be good." Mari said.

"Uh… Was that supposed to happen?" Jesse asked.

"That's no ghost. It's one of XANA's specters." Jack said.

"It seems to be going after Ulrich, I'll go contact Miu. Can you two try to stall that thing?" Mari asked.

"We'll do what we can." Jesse said.

"Duck down!" Jack said tackling them both as he tossed a rock as it hit something. They looked closer to see it was an unconscious Skorupi.

"A Skorupi? Could one of the ninja masters be here?" Mari asked.

"If so, why are they in the school? They didn't bother going for it before. Unless...one of their prisoners are here." Jack said.

"If that's the case, they might be in danger. I'll go look for them. I'm counting on you two." Mari said before running off.

"Wait...Ugh. Tell you, that girl is impulsive. Jesse, go after Mari and keep her out of trouble." Jack said donning his gloves and touching Skorupi. "I'm going ninja hunting."

"O-okay. Just leave it to me!" Jesse said as he left.

"And to think all we wanted to do today was prank Sissi…." Aluche said.

Jack ran through the building as he saw several Skorupi. "This won't poison them but...Poison Sting!" He said firing needles from his mouth, taking them down. "Come on...where are ya?" he said before he ducked as a large claw swung at him. "Well...seems I found the big boss." He said seeing a large Drapion there.

"So...you...you're not the one we want." Drapion said trying to pierce Jack.

"So I was right. There is a prisoner here." Jack said dodging.

"Yeah, that's right. Too bad you won't see her." Drapion said. "Cross Poison!" he said trying to scratch Jack.

"Not a bad move. But...I think I could make better use." Jack said rushing Drapion as he touched him.

"Hah! You didn't do anything to me!" Drapion boasted.

"Not yet. But watch this!" Jack said. "Cross Poison!" he said charging.

"But that's...why can't I…" Drapion said before he was taken out.

"Simple...I'm a thief." Jack said. "Now...about this prisoner?"

"Fine...she's a player we kidnapped...from Alfheim Online." Drapion said.

"So another gamer like Sinon. Good to know." Jack said.

In another part of the school a girl with long blonde hair in a ponytail and wearing green clothing was running through the courtyard before bumping into Jesse and Mari.

"Ooof, Sorry! I was in a hurry there." She said.

"Wait a second… That coloration… Are you an MMO player like Kirito?" Jesse asked.

"Kirito? You know my cousin?" She asked.

"That's right. He's waiting in the ship nearby." Jesse said. "Asuna and Sinon are there too."

"Come on, we'll take you there." Mari said as she took the girl's hand and they headed to the Sunny.

"Hey, good news. I took out the ninja master and his cronies. I got them locked in the broom closet. Found the prisoner?" Jack asked on the comm.

"Yup, we're bringing her to the Sunny right now, meet us there as soon as you can." Mari said through her tech gauntlet.

"Yeah...I'm coming. But it looks like the problem has been dealt with for the school." Jack said seeing a dome of light spread.

Later….

"And then, Sissi was so freaked out by Jack's prank, that she scrambled outta the boiler room screaming like a baby." Akane snickered.

"Yeah, and the pre recording of the laugh scared the pants off of her two cronies as well." Mari said as she laughed hard.

"Kehehehehe. A fine prank, I must say. I will admit though, Sissi does make a fine Pentagram." Korekiyo said.

"Indeed. That sure was fun. I even got it on tape with a hidden camera." Al said.

"We should use it as blackmail later on. On an unrelated note, Leafa, right? Good to see you're doing alright with all of this." David said.

"Yeah, we were worried about you and the other prisoner when we escaped." Eze said.

"Oh yeah. There's still one more. Do any of you three remember what they looked like?" David asked Sachiko, Eze and Leafa.

"I don't. I was so scared of guards I went into the deep woods to try and find some shelter." Leafa said.

"I can't recall either. I was too worried about helping them escape I couldn't get a good look." Eze added.

"I'm afraid I'm clueless as well. I just didn't want to get caught. But I don't think they were recaptured." Sachiko said.

"That said… Im glad you're safe Leafa." Kirito said.

"You dummy, do you have any idea how worried I was when you and Asuna just vanished from ALO? When I thought you two logged out, I came to check on both of you, but you two were still on your headsets. I went back to ALO to see if it was a glitch in the program, but then this weird NPC shows up, asks me if I wanna see my friends again, and brings me into Viperia for who knows how long!" Leafa rambled.

"What did the NPC look like?" Mari asked.

"Something like...this." Leafa said drawing a picture.

"That's...Pandora!" Sunset said.

"Wait a second… how long were you trapped in here for?" Asuna said.

"I dunno….. A few months, a year maybe? I was in that cell a long time, can't really tell." Leafa said. "It's a long time to be separated from my real body."

"Hmm. This is puzzling. One has to wonder...what is Pandora's gain in all of this?" Kokichi said.

"It's hard to say, we have yet to understand what her true goal is in all this." Spade said.

"Normally, a redux usually consists of the people originally involved. But...Pandora's pulling in people who were never involved like Sinon or Selena. You have to wonder who the last person is." Connor said.

"It could be a member of the coalition that was with us when I was in the Dimensional Heroes." Roy said.

"It's unlikely...but it's possible." Sinon said. "I was only a member of the coalition for a month before I was sent home."

"We'll find out soon enough who it is." Tsuki said.

"Not for awhile though. With all 5 ninja masters beaten...we're moving on to invade Viperia." Jexi said.

"We don't need to beat around the bush here. Leia… Monferno's yours." Hope said.

"Hope, we don't need a break down of who goes for who. We let everyone figure it out for themselves when we invade." Jexi said. "But...yeah, she's gonna tear him a new one."

"Actually, there's no need for deliberation." Mayumi said alongside Salazzle, Bartolomeo, Cavendish and Nina.

"Wait, you two are going as well?" Sectonia asked.

"We were in Viperia before. It's only natural they'll need guides." Cavendish said.

"We're the only ones who have been there. They need us to get through the traps." Bartolomeo said.

"If no one has any objections, I think our assault team is set." Leia said.

"Be...careful in there, Leia." Jude said.

"Please come back safely, Nina." Ryu said as Nina nodded.

"Viperia...we're coming. And you will be the losers in this war." Mayumi said looking up. "Is everyone ready? Let's go!"

"Roger!" Leia, Bartolomeo, Cavendish and Salazzle said with a nod from Nina as they marched to Viperia.


	22. Battle for Viperia

It didn't take long to find a lift underneath the kingdom known as Viperia.

"This is how they send their ground troops. We ride it up and it should take us to their castle." Bartolomeo said.

"Alright. Lead us." Leia said as they got on the lift as they were carried up to the castle, unaware they were spotted.

"Uh...queen Golbat...those Dimensional Heroes have arrived." Monferno said looking at the screens.

"Good...let them into the castle." Golbat said. "Monferno, I understand that you have a bone to pick with the girl in the hat. The girl with that Salazzle is mine. Something about her intrigues me."

The five soon broke down the doors.

"Weird...you think they would have had guards posted at the door." Bartolomeo said.

"This could be some kind of trap. Keep your guard up." Mayumi said.

"Trap. Why does that….oh crap. I just remembered why there were no guards. This whole floor is a…." Cavendish said before it opened. "Trap door!" he shouted as he, Nina, Leia and Bartolomeo fell through as Mayumi and Salazzle held onto the sides they soon hear a thud.

"Are you guys okay?" Mayumi asked.

"Yeah, but it was a big drop. I don't think we'll be able to get up there." Leia said.

"Just find another route and make your way back up here." Salazzle said.

"Will do. You two should watch yourselves as well." Cavendish said. "Hmm. I don't see Lomeo or Leia. That means the door leads to two different rooms."

"So...there come two intruders into my realm." A voice said as a ghostly figure with floating hands appeared. "I am Haunter, this kingdom's top general."

"!" Nina gasped in fright as she backed behind Cavendish while pulling out her staff.

"Oi! Cabbage! Mute girl! Where are you? We've gotten split up." Bartolomeo said.

"That trap door must've separated us. We need to find a route back to the others." Leia said.

"But why would you do that?" a voice asked as they saw Monferno standing on a pole. "Besides...I'm here as your executioner."

"Somehow I'm not surprised you'd be here." Leia said.

"Yeah. I remember this well and this is lame." Bartolomeo said.

"Hey! This entrance is as cool as heck!" Monferno shouted. "Nevermind. I'm still gonna get rid of you both."

"Let's not waste any time, then." Leia said as she got out her staff.

"Flame Wheel!" Monferno said burning in a wheel shape as he lunged at Leia who jumped.

"Eagle's Rage!" Leia called as she kicked two disks of water at Monferno, then launches herself with the aura of a falling meteor. The two collided as the two jumped back.

"Grr. Fire Punch!" Monferno said retaliating with a flaming punch.

"Barrier!" Bartolomeo said making a barrier, blocking the punch, hurting Monferno.

"Ahhh! Man that hurts!" Monferno shouted.

"Whew… Thanks for the save." Leia said.

"Of course, Leia senpai!" Bartolomeo said.

"Grrr. Enough damage has been dealt. It's time." Monferno said as his flames burned brighter. "Blaze is active!" he shouted.

"Blaze… an ability that pumps up fire type moves when low of energy." Leia said. "I'll have to finish this now."

"I'll be the one finishing this!" Monferno shouted. "Flamethrower!" he shouted as fire was breathed out.

Leia took a deep breath before she strikes Monferno with a spin, then dashes past him, leaving five earth pits in her wake. "Linked Explosion!" she called as the pits explode with earth and fire.

"I...I can't lose." Monferno said weakly. "I will not…' he said before Bartolomeo knocked him out with a punch.

"You're done." Bartolomeo said.

On the other side…

"Beautiful Blade: Blue Bird!" Cavendish said trying to strike Haunter while avoiding falling into the poison pool below.

Nina casted Crimson Flare, Absolute, and Thunder Blade in quick succession before casting Sharpness and Barrier onto Cavendish.

"You can cast all the magic you want...but it does no good." Haunter said vanishing and reappearing at will. "Now...let's put you both to sleep. Hypnosis!" Haunter said sending out psychic energies. Cavendish blocked the attack meant for Nina as he fell asleep and fell to the ground.

Nina gasped in shock before giving Haunter a glare.

"Hahaha...what's wrong? Scared? Don't worry. I'll make sure to...huh?" Haunter said before Cavendish slowly rose up. "But...didn't I?" He said before Cavendish vanished and reappeared behind Haunter slashing him and defeating him.

Nina slowly walked up to Cavendish and tapped his shoulder only to see the face was more of a Phantom than the actual Cavendish as he rose his sword.

"Sorry...but Cavendish isn't here." He said before vanishing and attempting to slash her.

Nina immediately dodged out of the way as she slowly backed away holding her staff.

"Cut, kill, slice….cover this entire room in blood!" The figure said rushing at her at incredible speeds.

"No!" A voice yelled out as Halsemon swooped in and grabbed her. "Are you alright, Nina?"

"Hal...se...mon." Nina managed to say in relief.

"I'll cover this room in both your bloods!" The body said rushing both of them.

"Udjat Gaze!" Halsemon called out as he sent Hypnotic waves at the body causing it to collapse.

"That would work on Cavendish...but not on me!" The body said rising and rushing at them.

"Seems I will have to do it the hard way. Red Sun!" Halsemon called out as he fired laser beams from his eyes.

"Ha!" He said vanishing quickly before they hit.

"He's too fast." Halsemon said before the body was on top.

"Let's see you both die!" It said laughing before his left arm grabbed his right. "Let me go, Cavendish!"

"No..you can't kill them." Cavendish said as both were struggling.

"Cavendish!" Nina called out.

"Forgive me. But this other one is hard to control. I can't hold him back for long." Cavendish said.

"Come on! I've been wanting to slice someone up ever since joining with these people!" The other person said.

"Whoever you are...get out of Cavendish's body!" Nina yelled as her angel wings appeared and she fired a ray of light at Cavendish, knocking him out.

"Nina...I can still feel the other person in him." Halsemon said.

"It's fine." A voice said as Bartolomeo and Leia arrived as Bartolomeo started to chain up Cavendish. "I had a feeling this might happen."

"I take it things on your end went well?" Halsemon asked.

"Yep. Took him down." Leia said. "Now all that's left is Mayumi with Golbat."

"What about Cavendish?" Nina asked.

"He's done this before. According to great senpai Sabo, he's got another guy in his head called Hakuba, he's like a slicing wind. Hurt a lot of people in the Rommel Kingdom." Bartolomeo said.

"Multiple Personality Disorder it would seem." Leia said.

"Ah. Well I managed to knock him out, but what will happen?" Nina asked.

"He'll be back to his normal self when he wakes up. But…" Leia said.

"Yeah...I gotta keep him chained. Even when he goes to sleep we gotta chain him up." Bartolomeo said.

"Okay. Let's go help Mayumi and Salazzle." Nina said.

But it was too late for help as Mayumi and Salazzle had already reached Golbat's chamber.

"I figured at least one person would make it through." Golbat said.

"So, you're the ruler of this place?" Mayumi said.

"Yes. I am. I am Golbat." Golbat said. "The queen and master ninja among ninja masters."

"So it would seem. Well, for Salazzle's sake, we came here to defeat you." Mayumi said.

"I do not know of any Salazzle but...you shall be defeated. We begin." Golbat said taking to the air. "Air Cutter!" She shouted sending cutting waves down.

"It doesn't look like she noticed you." Mayumi said as they dodged.

"Then I'll just have to make her remember! Fire Blast!" Salazzle said as she fired a star-like flame at Golbat as it hit her.

"How dare you! Poison Fang!" She said flying down at Mayumi with fangs bared.

"Mayumi!" Salazzle called.

"Gh… Sorry… I got careless." Mayumi said. "Soul Fist!" she called as she launched a ball of energy that blasted Golbat off of her.

"Impressive...but...this is the attack to finish you. Poison is within you...so this should work. Venoshock!" Golbat said as poison spires went rushing for Mayumi before Salazzle used Poison Jab on Golbat.

"Mayumi...now is the time!" Salazzle shouted. "Finish this!"

"R-right. Astral Vision!" Mayumi said as an illusion of her appeared behind Golbat in Black Wing Armor. The two struck Golbat with rapid attacks before they kicked Golbat into the air and dealt uppercuts at her.

"I...fall." Golbat said as she fell to the ground.

"We...we did it." Salazzle said.

"Yeah, we did. Thanks...Salazzle." Mayumi said.

"I… I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to get you involved in this. I…" Salazzle said.

"There's no need. You are my Perfect Link. We always help each other out when times get tough." Mayumi said.

"Mayumi? Salazzle?" A voice called out as Nina approached with the others.

"Hey guys. A little late to the party." Mayumi said as she held her arm.

"You're hurt. Hold on." Nina said as she casted Recover and Cure on her wound.

"Whew… Thanks. I really needed that." Mayumi said.

"Well, I guess this means we're all done here." Leia said.

"All the kingdoms are done with. That only leaves Gospel." Bartolomeo said.

"Yep. Come on. Let's head back." Mayumi said.

The group soon returned to the Sunny as the victory party was well underway.

"Hard to believe but we're finally done with the kingdoms." Hope said.

"That's another mission checked off the list." Simon said while Spade was grabbing a plate of food.

"Strange we never found that last prisoner. Well...they gotta still be here somewhere." Jexi said.

"Yes, they have to turn up somewhere. We just have to keep looking." Camilla said.

"Yet somehow...I don't think this is the end." Jexi said. "I feel like something horrible is soon to happen."


	23. Contact

One day, Miu was typing away at the supercomputer on Aelita's antivirus, but no matter what she tried, it always came up as a failure.

"Ugh… I am complete garbage at this!" Miu said as the elevator opened to reveal Francisca and Sachiko.

"Bonjam, Miu." Francisca said.

"You look awfully down today. Is something wrong?" Sachiko asked.

"Jeremie and I have been spinning our wheels for days now on Aelita's antivirus program and trying to code Franz Hopper's diary, but even with our combined brain power, nothing seems to be working." Miu said. "Even with everything we got from Sector 5 while Mayumi and the others were in Viperia, we still haven't made any progress."

"O-okay. I think I know someone who needs to air out her neurons a little." Francisca said. "And here's how we do it. Tonight, Odd's gonna be screening his short film."

"Did anyone see any of it?" Miu asked.

"No, he wouldn't let us. He said he didn't want us to spoil it to the others." Sachiko said.

"Do we know who's in it at least?" Miu asked.

"Uh...we do. It's sorta of a...monster movie...with Sissi as the monster." Francisca said.

"Haha! Yep, that sounds about fitting." Miu said.

Sachiko then looks up. "Nu… I just hope you're okay."

"Is she that last prisoner from Viperia? Viperia is already kicked to the curb, so whoever that person is, they don't really have much to worry about." Miu said.

In the woods, running through the forest was a strange robotic looking woman.

"What...is happening with me? I've been...acting strange since arriving in this new world. Is it...some sort of virus...or...what could it be?" She pondered before seeing lights up ahead. "Lights. Civilization." She said. "Maybe someone can help me figure out what's going on."

She made her way through before arriving at the school.

"A school? This is...fortunate. I could gain insight as to what this world is and perhaps find a way home." She said. "And hopefully know something about Pandora."

She then looked around before seeing someone with his back turned.

"Is that..?" she said before smiling ear to ear. "Ragnaaaaaa!"

"Huh?" Hope asked turning around.

"Ragna, I finally found you! Nu's so happy to see you!" The girl said as her voice changed from stoic and serious to cheerful.

"Uh… I think you've got the wrong guy, Ma'am, my name's Hope… Hope the Victor." Hope said.

"Oh, Nu is sorry Hope. But Nu is glad to see someone else here after escaping that horrible Viperia place with Eze, Sachiko, and Leafa." Nu said smiling.

"Anyway… why'd you say I was some guy named Ragna?" Hope asked.

"Nu is ...confused by strange new emotions within her. Has been occurring since arrival in this strange new world." she said.

"That explains a lot." Hope said. "Anyway, can you change into something more appropriate? You're kinda giving me the wrong crowd, and I don't wanna be the one to have the wrong idea about."

"Oh, is Nu's combat mode not necessary here?" Nu asked.

"Nu… that's your name, right?" Hope asked.

"Yes. Nu 13. It's nice to meet you." Nu said as she glowed and in her place was a girl with a red visored eyepatch over her left eye, a ragged cloak, and a bodysuit that went past her shoulders and above her knees. "Is this better?"

"Better, much. We'll get you some shoes later." Hope said noting Nu's body suit didn't cover her feet.

"Okay, thank you Hope!" Nu said happily as she hugged Hope. "Nu is glad to have a new friend!"

"Well, you're definitely an energetic one." Hope said. "And you're in luck. I think I can get you in to Odd's movie screening… if you act as my date."

"Date? But… Nu is destined to be with Ragna…" Nu said.

"Who the heck is Ragna?" Hope asked.

"Ragna the Bloodedge." Illuma said. "I've heard of him. A renegade swordsman."

:Oh, I think I know him. He's the man with the Power of Chaos, carrying the power of the Black Beast. Why's Nu so obsessed with him?" Hope asked.

"Because the Black Beast is Nu's enemy, but I don't want to hurt Ragna because of it. And ever since I met that Yo-Kai Pandora, Nu has been...experiencing strange emotions and is feeling weird." Nu said.

"Pandora? She brought you here?" Hope asked.

"Yes, Nu was brought here and found herself in a cell in a place called Viperia and met new yet strange people who were Eze, Sachiko, and Leafa." Nu said.

"Oh yeah! We met those three earlier. Don't worry. They're all safe on the ship." Hope said.

"Oh, Nu is glad, can you take Nu to them, please?" Nu asked.

"Sure. Right after the movie." Hope said before an ambulance was seen blaring towards the campus as people ran in. "The heck? What happened?"

"One student inside is in need of dire medical attention and is to be taken to the hospital." One of the paramedics said as Sissi was carried out into the ambulance.

"Hope, something happened to Sissi and she's speaking backwards all of the sudden. I think it might be XANA's work." Mari said as she approached.

"Uh...a little late with that." Hope said pointing to the ambulance.

"Hmm… I don't think this is XANA's doing. If it was, she would've attacked everyone in the auditorium." David said.

"David's got a point. Something's not right here." Ross said.

Sachiko then spotted Hope and Nu. "Nu! Thank goodness you're safe!"

"Same to you, Sachiko." Nu said.

"Guys...I think we should follow the ambulance to the hospital. Unless you think that's a bad idea." Hope said.

"Nope, it's a good idea. We should go just in case." Al said as they ran to the hospital.

"Hey, wait for me!" Zexi said running with Harumi and Leonis.

"Why drag us into this? I have no clue." Leonis said sighing.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the hospital.

"She's in that room. But please be mindful. She's sharing with another patient." The nurse said.

"(I think we know who.)" Harumi thought.

"It's that idiot huh?" Saki whispered.

They arrived to the room where Sissi was and not surprising Flux was in the same room, both seemingly sharing a conversation.

"Look...I have no clue where that jerk of a father is. He went into hiding ten years ago." They heard Flux say.

"How is Flux able to understand her if she's talking backwards?" Al asked as she peeked her head through the doorway with Harumi.

"It doesn't matter anyway. He was a crappy father anyway. Yeah...that's always been true. I don't even care if he ends up kicking the bucket. After what happened...I can never forgive that man." Flux said.

"What did happen exactly? That's what we want to know." Harumi whispered softly.

"Yeah, but I don't think it's a good idea to talk to our archenemy." Al whispered back.

"He's just Jexi's...or so I've heard." Harumi said.

"Look...unless you have something I want. I won't do anything. Same goes for you eavesdroppers by the door." Flux said.

"He noticed?" Harumi asked.

"I wasn't born yesterday. For god's sake, your halfway through the door, Hopeless!" Flux said.

"Oh...Uh...hi." Hope said.

"I'll be blunt...I don't plan on helping you." Flux said.

"We kinda figured as much." Roy said.

Sissi then said something to Flux as he turned to her. "Okay, so what do I have to do?" He said.

"Ask the nurse if she can get some fresh air. Also… how do you understand her backwards speech?" Hope asked.

"It's not backwards. It's electronically encrypted language. What, you can't understand her?" Flux asked.

"Because some of us thought she was talking backwards, idiot." Saki said.

"You didn't understand her or whoever is using her body at all. So I think you would be the idiot." Flux pointed out.

"What was that?! Oh I am so gonna tear your-mmmph!" Saki said before Saaya grabbed her and covered her mouth.

"Let's all calm down Saki, no need to get violent!" Saaya said.

David then got a sense. "Harumi… Get Sissi to the factory, now."

"Got it." Harumi said as she got Sissi on a wheelchair and headed out.

"Ishihara...knowing you well...I would like you to stay out of what comes next." Flux said. "Same with the rest of you."

"What? Are you out of your…" Hope said as the doorknob shook as a nurse entered with the eye of XANA in her eyes.

"And that's our cue to blow this joint." Takeshi said.

"Good idea. RUN!" Al yelled as she casted Hastega on everyone and immediately zipped out.

"Cowards." Flux said as the nurse got close to him. "Sorry...but I'll be leaving with them...just need to take care of...you!" Flux said as he used his IV to wrap it around the nurse's neck as she started to choke. "I know most of you XANA zombies can phase through solid objects by shifting molecules with electricity. Sadly...the IV I'm using is made of plastic. You can't escape so easily." He said before the nurse collapsed. "I doubt you'll be out for long so tell the doctor I'll send him a check." He said before jumping out the window.

"Son of a…." Hope said as they saw him land.

"Ah...now those are the skills I should be using more. Now...let's be off elsewhere." Flux said.

"Hopefully, Harumi's got Sissi to the factory by now. Let's hurry before Doctor Doom wakes up again." David said.

"Oh we're not going to the factory. We'll be needed somewhere more important." Flux said as he headed in the direction of Kadic.

"Flux...what's going on? Tell us...now." Hope said.

"And why should…" Flux said before a sword was pointing at his throat by David. "Very well. The being possessing the girl isn't XANA...it's Franz Hopper."

"We kind of figured that." David said putting his sword back.

"Franz Hopper? He possessed Sissi? Why?" Hope asked.

"To make contact with you...and for me to try and send a helping message later on."

"A message?" Al asked.

"Since you are well versed...we'll be heading for the woods. Bring shovels." Flux said.

"Shovels? Why would we need those?" Hope said.

"Nu doesn't understand either." Nu admitted.

"Shovels mean that he wants us to help him dig something up." David said.

"Yes...a set of video tapes made by my father." Flux said.

"Videotapes from Cretaceous…." Hope said. "Okay, we'll help."

"Hold it. We're not doing this for free. We want something." Leonis said.

"The summoner boy. I already know what you want." Flux said pulling out a map.

"What is it?" Mari asked.

"This? The map to the remaining Smash Scrolls. All in one spot in this town." Flux said.

"This isn't a trick is it?" Aluche asked.

"When it comes to his father, I don't think he'd have a reason to lie." David said.

"You're doing this so you can have your father's secrets. That's what Pandora agreed to in that deal, right?" Hope asked.

"Yes. Help me get the tapes...and the map is yours." Flux said.

"Jamblasted… Very well, we'll do it." Francisca said.

"Excellent." Flux said.

It wasn't long before they arrived in the woods as each person started digging.

"Do not stop until you hit a wooden box." Flux said.

"I think I got something!" Papelne called out.

They soon dug up a small wooden box as Flux opened it to see some video tapes. "Excellent. Thank you." Flux said.

"A...pleasure, I guess." David said.

"Look, I know you guys are still a little bitter at me about the whole titans thing…" Flux said.

"A little? Heh. Understatement of the decade." David said.

"Hey, not my fault some guy fed me faulty info." Flux said. "He told me opening that temple would get me control of the Olympos XII."

"Well, not exactly the case. You're just lucky we've got something to fight them with." David said.

"The Masakado, a Godslaying blade. Ah yes, they'd be scared of something like that." Flux said.

"I even used it to chop one of their arms off. Though he still got away." David said.

"The Titans… they seem dangerous. They'd destroy the world… and Ragna and Nu won't be together." Nu said.

"All the more reason to fight them, huh Nu?" David asked. "Good thing we've got a countermeasure." He said as he takes out Ceresmon's fruit. "According to Ceresmon, anyone who eats these fruits will be able to fight them on equal ground."

"What's… eating?" Nu asked.

"What, you havent really eaten anything in your life before?" Hope asked.

"Makes sense, since she's an android." Makoto said.

"Well, unless we have other countermeasures, this is what most of us went with." David said.

"Seems like the best option for right now. And the titans are going to have hell to pay for what they're doing." Simon said.

"Alright, alright. Enough with the needless passion. You're making Ishihara seem tame." Flux said.

"And that's saying something." David said as Leonis was handed the map.

"Wait...there's something else I wanna know!" Hope said. "You said your father did something unforgivable. What did he do?"

Flux stood there silently with the box for a moment before looking back. "He cost me my older brother." Flux said before leaving.

"Older...brother?" Damien said.

"Damn… That's deep. And that's coming from me." David said.

"I know…" Hope said. "So uh… Nu. You want to help us with the Titans?"

"Of course I do. Nu wants to be with Ragna… so that we can reunite… and kill each other. Only Nu is the one for Ragna. We'll be together forever…. In our bloody love." Nu swooned.

"O...kay. Hope, can Sachiko and I talk to you for a moment?" David said.

"Yeah?" Hope said as they went elsewhere. "Is this about Nu and her… thing?"

"Yeah. Honestly, I'm not sure how we'd be able to handle her once we meet this...Ragna." David said.

"She may have emotions now, but… I'm still a little worried about her." Sachiko said. "She was created as a killing machine and doesn't know how to channel her emotions right now. She needs a positive influence in her life."

"You're looking at him." Hope said. "If she joins my team, I'm sure we can work around her Yandere problem. Besides, when are we even gonna see Ragna?"

"Probably not for a long while. But if the Multiverse Ex Grand Prix is of any indication, it's basically a flip of a coin if he actually ends up going there." David said.

"You're right. But I know that I can handle Nu." Hope said. "This isn't the first time I've handled psychopaths and oddballs. Sides… I like Nu a lot. She's pretty cheery."

"When she's not in her psychotic tendencies, at least." David said. "And knowing you, it probably won't be the last time dealing with those kinds of people either."

"Nope. But Nu's a good fit for me. I mean… where else would I find someone as unique as a girl that was born a robot?" Hope said.

"Not a lot of places, I'll admit." David said.

"But still, we're counting you to pull off a miracle here." Sachiko said.

"I'll be fine guys, really." Hope said.

"I sure hope so. Now come on, let's get back to the others before they get suspicious." David said.

They headed back as Hope went back to Nu.

"Okay Nu, since you don't have anywhere else to go, I've decided that you're going to join my group. I'm no Ragna, but you can definitely count on me as a friend." Hope said.

"We better be prepared for the worse here." Ross whispered.

"Yeah...no kidding. But I still can't help wondering...what message was Flux thinking of?" Leonis pondered.


	24. Revelation

We open to the school as Leonis looked over the scrolls that he had found using the map.

"So...what's the verdict?" Rainbow asked.

"Seems Flux was true to his word. These are the genuine Smash scrolls." Leonis said.

"So this is all of them?" Mari asked.

"Counting the one your group turned in….yes, this appears to be all of them." Leonis said.

"Incredible, so you will be able to summon alternate versions of famous warriors including myself. You've already summoned Marth, correct?" Roy asked

"They aren't alternate versions. They're the genuine articles." Leonis said.

"I wasn't talking about the scrolls. I'm talking about the people summoned from them." Roy said.

"So was I." Leonis said.

"Is it alright if I see one for a sec?" Simon asked.

"You want me to summon one right now?" Leonis asked.

"That's not what I meant. I only want to check the symbols etched into one of them." Simon said.

"Of course. Help yourself." Leonis said.

"Okay, while these guys go at it, I've got news for everyone. Thanks to the batch of data we got from Sector 5, we believe we might be able to decrypt Franz Hopper's diary." Miu said.

"That is excellent news, Miu. We may be able to find the answer on how to cure Aelita." Camilla said.

"There's just one problem. I'll need to activate a tower to run the decryption program." Miu said.

"Yeah, and if you guys remember, it didn't go so well last time. XANA hates it when we play with his toys." Francisca said.

"Yeah, we just have to guard the activated tower from his monsters till you finish the program, right?" Kagura asked.

"It's not just his monsters we need to worry about. FreezeMan is still out there." David said.

"Yeah, and we still don't know what he's after, and how it concerns Aelita. What is his end goal?" Ty said.

"At this point, I'm probably givin up. He's tried to give Aelita to the Scyphozoa multiple times, and he's made a deal with XANA… but his end game isn't clear at all." Connor said.

"You guys give up way too easily. It's obvious what he's after." David said.

"Yeah, I know what he wants. He wants Aelita sacrificed so he can revive Seven of the Most dangerous Digimon in the world. The Seven Great Demon Lords." Hope said.

"That's right. His alliance with XANA is just a means to an end." David said.

"But why resurrect them? Isn't one of them Beelko's brother, Beelzemon?" Al asked.

"Right on the money. But I'll leave the reason why to Hope, since he was actually involved in that battle." David said.

"I don't wanna reveal too much. You guys are gonna find out who was behind it all, but let me just say this. There's no way to stop this from happening, because this is the Redux." Hope said.

"But haven't we pretty much made alternate choices since we got here that was different from the original?" Saki asked.

"Yes, but these changes are only minor. They only affect events in the Redux timeline." David said.

"So wait, are you saying we should let Aelita be sacrificed, Hope?" Aluche asked.

"Even if we destroy FreezeMan and stop him from resurrecting the Demon Lords, Aelita will still die for a moment and XANA will escape the supercomputer. That at least, won't change." David said. "I know, because I was in the redux of the events afterward."

"But I'm not saying we should let it happen. In fact, we're gonna give it all we've got to make sure this redux finishes strong." Hope said. "Aelita will still release the Demon Lords in the end… but that doesn't mean we can't make it hard for FreezeMan."

"If I remember correctly, there were three things needed in the ritual." David said.

"What were they?" Ruenheid asked.

"One, a great evil has to be unleashed, which XANA can account for. Two, a human sacrifice, which is where Aelita would fit. And three, someone devoid of feeling and compassion. I think we all know who fits that." David said.

"FreezeMan himself." Roy said.

"Exactly. So, if FreezeMan is destroyed completely, the requirements wouldn't be fulfilled." David said.

"Right. If we take it him out, the ritual is basically a failure." Aya said.

"But… That would also mean that Hope would never have been involved in the coming events." David said.

"You mean he would cease to exist?" Kor asked.

"No, he'd still be alive, but he would have no initiative to ally with Jexi in the first place." David said. "If so, it would be as though the events afterward would never have happened."

"Isn't this just a redux? I thought you said these things didn't affect the main timeline." Saki said.

"You're right. They don't. I'm just considering a certain what-if." David said. "To the main timeline, these reduxes are basically what-if scenarios."

"Right. So the choices we make in the redux timeline is like a butterfly effect in a way, right?" Kor asked.

"Exactly." David said.

"Besides all this, have any of you seen Ace these past few days?" Simon asked.

"No, I haven't. Then again, he said it himself he wouldn't attend, so we rarely see him anyway." David said. "The only times we see him is when we virtualize to Lyoko."

"Yeah...it's strange. Wonder where he is? Come to think of it, I haven't seen Ming today either." Jexi said.

"Do you think they're okay?" Liliana asked.

"Yeah. Ming met the member of the Olympos XII that was hiding here. Maybe it has something to do with that. Whatever it is, I'm sure it's nothing too major." David said.

"Why do I get the feeling that's not true?" Zexi asked.

Meanwhile in the woods, Odd had headed in there. "Strange. The text said she would meet me here." Odd said.

"I'm afraid I have mislead you." A voice said as Odd saw FreezeMan rising from the bushes. "See...I've come for you." He said before Ming jumped down as she kicked him in the face. "You again."

"I had a feeling you'd resort to this. You're the only one left." Ming said. "Odd, go! I've got this guy!" She shouted as Odd ran. "I'm onto you. You're gonna try to bring Aelita to Lyoko, set her to the Scyphozoa, and watch as she dies...all to resurrect the Demon Lords."

"W-what? How did you know about that? I've not shared that plan with anyone." FreezeMan said.

"Sad to say, your plan...has already failed." Ming said.

"Not yet it hasn't. Ice Stage!" FreezeMan said as the ground froze instantly. "I simply need to get rid of you." FreezeMan said.

"It won't stop with just me. Soon, someone will stop you." Ming said.

"So what? All of you organic beings...you all must be eradicated in order for machines to flourish." FreezeMan said.

"Another extremist, it seems. Even if your ritual does succeed, the Demon Lords won't last long. Of that, I can assure you." Ming said.

"Hmm… I see. So you're from a different timeline, that's how you were aware of such an event." FreezeMan said.

"Guess we both can't walk away from this now. We have no choice but to fight to the death." Ming said.

"Yes...very true." FreezeMan said as he zoomed at Ming and uppercut her.

"He's fast." Ming thought.

"On normal ground, I'm as slow as any human, but on ice...I can move my quickest." FreezeMan said.

"Heh. I know a friend of mine that would say the same thing. His ice powers are unlike anything you would believe." Ming said as she fired multiple daggers at FreezeMan.

"Ice Shield." FreezeMan said encasing himself in ice as the daggers hit, making it shatter as he lunged at Ming. "I will freeze you where you stand! Freeze Cracker!" he said firing a ball of ice at her that exploded just as she brought out a shield and protected against it.

"I'd like to see you try." Ming said as she swung a chain with blades spinning around her.

"Ice Fall." FreezeMan said as icicles formed in the air as each of them fell one by one.

"Damn it." she said dodging them one by one as they threw off her balance. "This isn't good. If I don't finish this quick, he's gonna end up killing me. I gotta finish this with an all out assault." she thought.

"Ice Tower!" FreezeMan said rising several towers as he sent them moving towards her.

"There's no going back for you this time!" Ming said entering her awakened state as she fired multiple weapons as they broke through the towers and hit FreezeMan multiple times as he stood there smoking and sparking.

"You...foolish organic. I cannot be broken so easily." FreezeMan said.

"Take this!" Ming said as she took out a sword and split him down the middle before dealing multiple slashes, chopping him to bits before taking out a blaster. "It's over!" She shouted as she fired only for time to stop for her. "Huh?"

A small hooded figure stood behind her as it slowly approached the diced remains of FreezeMan. "My my. It seems FreezeMan has lost. As fun as it would be seeing him diced into bits, I'm afraid I still require his services." He said waving his hand as the pieces vanished.

"Who...or what are you?" Ming asked.

"A servant to the demons." he said before vanishing as Ming was unfrozen.

"What...what the hell just happened?" Ming pondered.

Back on the Sunny…

"Okay...we were able to get the data we needed from the tower. Now we can read the diary." Miu said.

"Indeed. Miu, would you do the honors?" Camilla asked.

"Alright. Here goes." Miu said as she launched the program.

"Alright, Franz Hopper. Lets see if we can use your knowledge to help save your daughter." Hope said.

"Don't spoil, Hope." Miu said.

"Daughter? But...that's impossible. If he had a daughter on Lyoko, I would have known." Aelita said.

"There is another theory. Aelita...you're his daughter." Hope said as Aelita stood there in shock.


	25. The Key

We open up to the group the next day as they began to watch the diary footage. On the screen appeared Franz Hopper as he looked at the screen. "June 6th, 1994, Day 67. Project Carthage was a military program used to block enemy communications..." he began as Jeremie fast forwarded. "So I built the supercomputer, created Lyoko and of course, XANA, to destroy carthage. I contacted my friend Cretaceous about the project, but he said it would be incredibly risky to even attempt. But, I have gone through with it anyway." he said as the next entry played. "June 6, 1994, Day 1,265. Someone is watching me. Someone wants to get rid of me. I wanted to destroy the supercomputer and destroy all the evidence of my activities. That's when I discovered one of the most fascinating properties. Returning to the past. It gave me all the time I needed to perfect my great project. The only thing that would allow me to escape my enemies." It then moved to the final entry. "Day 2,546, I have finished the scanners and in a few hours, I will virtualize myself and my daughter onto Lyoko. Just like me, Aelita will hold the keys to Lyoko. Together, we will be the absolute masters. We will live together...forever." he said before the diary cut out.

"Oh my…" Liliana said as she put her hand over her mouth in shock.

"Wow…. this is my first time hearing this and I'm already feeling so many emotions." Hope said.

"Aelita… I'm so sorry." Al said tearing up a bit.

"But still, 2,546 days? He's practically repeated the same day for about eight years. That kind of thing tends to take a toll on a man's mental stability." David said.

"By returning to the past so many times, Franz Hopper became mentally unstable. So he wanted to virtualize himself and Aelita onto Lyoko so that they both could be immortal. I can't believe he went through with this, and Cretaceous was in on it." Zinia said.

"I can see why dad thought the process was risky." Damien said.

"He tried to stop him, but it ended up happening anyway, huh?" Papelne asked.

"Looks like it." Hope said.

"I still can't believe I couldn't finish FreezeMan. I knew the ritual was supposed to happen, but still…" Ming said.

"You were interfered with by Arojam weren't you?" Jexi asked.

"Was that what he was called? Yeah, it was him." Ming said.

"He's a wicked magician who wants to revive the demon lords too. He's the reincarnation of Majora." Jexi said.

"Seriously? He's Majora? Course given the name we shouldn't be surprised." Takeshi said.

"He's the one who created the mask that possessed the Skull Kid right?" Roy asked.

"Uh...not right. Majora was the name of the being that lived within the mask. Hence the name Majora's Mask." Twilight said.

"Still...I think after everything that happened today...we should be packing our bags and going." Jexi said.

"Sweeter words never been said. I'll go pack our bags." Usopp said.

"Wait, we're just gonna leave? But we can't do that until the Redux is over." Hope said.

"I would agree, but let's face it. Aelita's momentary death, XANA unleashed… It's going to happen, whether we interfere or not." David said.

"So we're just gonna run away, is that it?" A voice asked as Ace approached.

"Ace, I understand how you feel, but we did everything we could at this point. We all know it's going to happen, one way or another. Ming might've dealt a serious blow, but anything else we do is just delaying the inevitable at this point." Francisca said.

"I'm a little bitter about this ending too, but no matter which way we look at it, no matter what we do, Aelita losing her keys to Lyoko and XANA being unleashed were supposed to happen." David said.

"Yeah...I remember clearly now. FreezeMan was repaired by Arojam, he kidnaps Aelita and virtualizes her and freezes the scanners to make sure no one interferes." Jexi said.

"And then he completes the ritual in Sector 5, and the Seven Demon Lords and XANA are Unleashed." Hope said. "But I like to think about this a different way. If this all never happened… I wouldn't have met all of you. I'm really glad I did."

"Yeah, Hope's right. If this didn't happen, how would we have all met down the line? Who would we be if not who we are right now?" Titanica said.

"Alright...I get it…" Ace said before he left.

"Ace, hold on a second." Hope said as Ace stopped. "I know what you're feeling. And it's hard,I get it. You want to fight as hard as you can, but sometimes things have to happen. Like I said… we never would've met you if this didn't happen."

"He's right. As hard as it is, there are times where you can't run from fate." David said looking up to the sky.

"Yeah, I would've been buried six feet under for good if it wasn't for this happening." Connor said.

"And I would never have gotten the strength of the crew I have to save Metal City from Black." Ty said.

"Me? Sectonia still would've been resurrected and I'd still form my group, but who knows where we'd be?" David asked.

"Hope made a good point. Everything a person does could alter the fate of another." Jexi said.

"So if we change the fate of Aelita and FreezeMan… what would that cost all of us?" Hope said. "Ace… are you happy you met all of us because of this?"

"...Yeah...After learning about my origins and what happened to my father. I met a lot of good people including you guys and overcame it a bit…" Ace said.

"And you'll keep going as long as you keep walking the path you believe in." David said as the group saw black smoke coming from the factory. "It's already begun."

"What should we do?" Ace asked.

"I'm afraid nothing you do at this point matters." A voice said as Arojam stood on their ship. "The time has come!" He said as a pillar of light erupted from the factory. "Their return comes!"

"Stand strong Ace. This is the beginning of all our crossed paths, Arojam just doesn't know it." Hope said clutching Ace's shoulder.

"Alright. I just want this whole redux to end. Let's go home together, everyone." Ace said putting his hand on Hope's as he smiled.

"Home? Isn't that a bit...presumptuous?" A voice said as a figure with three angel wings and three devil wings appeared. "So...these are the ones who almost stopped our resurrection."

"Lucemon." Jexi said.

"Stay hidden, Beelko. He doesn't know you're here." Ty said. "Let's keep it that way."

"Master...why have you graced these lower creatures with your presence?" Arojam asked.

"Simply...to get rid of a problem before it begins." Lucemon said.

"Wait...this...this never happened." Lucy said.

"Something's not right here. Everyone, stay on guard!" David said.

"What happened in the original timeline, Lucy?" Ace asked.

"Jexi lunged at Lucemon only to be stopped, but after Lucemon just left after devouring these strange slime creatures. But...he never tried to kill us in one go." Lucy said.

"I guess this is Pandora's last surprise…." Hope said.

"Pandora? Do you mean this thing?" Lucemon asked holding her in his hand.

"Pandora!" Nu said.

"I'm… sorry everyone. Somehow...by altering things too much...I made him self aware." Pandora said.

"Why the hell did you do that in the first place?!" Ban asked.

"No time for questions right now!" David said drawing his sword.

"I'll fight as well, David. You're not alone in this." Ace said as he pulled out Excalibur.

"My...seems I'm a tad bit outnumbered. But...it's okay. I have friends." Lucemon said as six portals opened as six different figures appeared.

"God...he brought them all together. Lilithmon, Barbamon, Leviamon, Belphemon, Daemon and Beelzemon." Nami said.

"Each one representing one of the seven deadly sins." Medusa said.

"Oh boy…" Connor said. "Anyone see a way outta this one?"

"You...all of you can win. You...can change fate." Pandora said weakly.

"She's right. If Pandora believes in us, then I'm sure we all believe in ourselves too." Hope said.

"That said, since they were so kind to introduce themselves. I guess I should make one of my own." David said. "I am the light in the darkness, the sworn protector of Akihabara. I am the answer to all beings everywhere in pain who cry out for help! I...am David Ishihara, the Ice Devil of Akihabara, and I…" David said as he went into Sapphire God Mode. "...am a Demon Hunter!"

Hope smiled. "My name is Hope the Victor, the Enforcer of good! Ally to good, nightmare to you!" Hope said entering Azure God mode.

Ace smiled at both of them. "I am Ace Neptune, prince of Devaloka, and wielder of Excalibur. In honor of all the Nephilims, the Hero Alliance and people of the Multiverse, I sentence you demons to death. Now...prepare yourselves!" Ace said as an angelic and demonic aura formed around him as he sprouted an angel and devil wing and his hair turned black and white.

"I'm Jexi. And...we're gonna win." Jexi said entering Golden God Mode.

"Ah...foolish human…" Barbamon began before a shot pierced his head as he fell into the waters.

"Sorry...my finger slipped. We aren't letting them go at this alone." Sinon said as the other members of the groups stepped up.

"Alright, who else wants a bullet in the head?!" Connor said.

"So this is the result of the possibilities changing, huh?" Ty said. "In that case, we'll just have to beat ALL of you up!"

"Jexi, Hope, David. God mode or not. I'm...with you all the way!" Ace said.

Hope smiled. "Hero Alliance…. LET'S KICK THEIR ASSES!"

(Cue-My Hero Academia: Jet Set Run)

"Nephilim's...Gemini Burst!" Ace yelled as he fired a white and black fusion beam at Lilithmon, obliterating her. "Alright!"

"Rar!" Belphemon said descending onto the ship. "I'll sink this whole ship!" He said.

"Zelos, with me!" Selena said.

"You got it!" Zelos said.

"Overdrive...Mercurius Blade!" Selena said as Lexida glowed bright before she slashed Belphemon and launched him into the air. "Zelos!"

Zelos grew red wings and took to the air as streams of light surrounded him. "Shining Bind!"

"Raaaaagh!" Belphemon screamed as he was disintegrated by the light.

"Perfect World." Leviamon said covering the ship with a rainbow smoke. "Now...to eat." He said chomping down on Nu. "Now that...wait...what is…" He said before Nu's swords sliced off his head from inside.

"Target eliminated. Do you get it now? Only Ragna is allowed to hurt Nu." Nu said in her serious voice.

"Nice work, Nu. We owe ya." Sachiko said.

Connor and Beelzemon were exchanging bullet fire before Beelzemon kicked him down.

"You should pay more attention to your opponent than your guns." Beelzemon said.

"How about mine, then?" David asked firing his Judgment Blaster as it damaged the Gluttony Lord.

"That's far enough, Beezle." A voice said as Beelko appeared and fired down homing bullets on him before landing between Connor and David.

"You? The hell are you doing here?" Beelzemon said.

"Making sure you don't hurt anymore innocent lives." Beelko said as she pointed her guns at him.

"I'm a demon. It's kinda my whole deal." Beelzemon said.

"And now you're a coat rack." David said firing an energy sword at Beelzemon.

"Thank you, David, Connor." Beelko said.

"No prob." Connor said as the sword impaled Beelzemon as he was defeated.

"I hope when my brother is reborn, he'll do what's right." Beelko said. "Thank you for defeating him."

"Too bad…" Daemon said appearing behind her. "I'll be sure you see him in hell." He said before a sword sliced off his arm. "Ahh!" He screamed as standing there was Yoshitsune.

"I'll have to ask you to leave them alone. This is a moment between siblings." He said.

"Hehe. Joker's trick!" Daemon said but was shocked to see nothing happen. "What? Why didn't you lose your arm instead?"

"Simple...I have a power that negates swapping afflictions." Yoshitsune said. "I am he who is the master of strategy, swordplay and counters. Yoshitsune." He said as Daemon automatically lost his other arm.

"No...n-" he said before he was beheaded by Yoshitsune.

"This was….inconceivable. They defeated six of the demon lords so easily?!" Arojam said in shock.

"That's because we believed in each other. No matter what, the Hero Alliance will defeat you. It's over Arojam, Lucemon." Ace said.

"Hmm. I still believe I can…" Lucemon said before Jexi lunged at him and punched. As Lucemon tried to block, his arm ended up being obliterated.

"Sorry...but things aren't the same as the last time." Jexi said with a glare.

"You… how are you so strong? You weren't like this according to Arojam.…" Lucemon said.

"Master...given the situation, we must retreat." Arojam said.

"To make a demon lord feel this weak...it's unheard of. I swear...I shall slaughter all of you when the time comes!" Lucemon said as he and Arojam fled.

"Good luck with that." David said as everyone reverted.

"Are you okay, Pandora?" Leonora asked as she healed Pandora.

"Thank you. I'm fine." Pandora said. "That was unexpected. Nevertheless...I still granted the wish."

"Speaking of, why all these changes? Why bring our old friends back to us?" David asked.

"David, let's give her a chance so we can listen to what she has to say." Ace said putting a hand on David's shoulder and nodding at him.

"I was just curious, that's all." David said.

"The reason I did what I did...it was to fulfill Mr. Neptune's wish. He wished for he and his friends to become stronger." Pandora said.

"And it's been fulfilled, thank you Lady Pandora. And everyone...I'm sorry I brought you all into this mess." Ace said.

"Don't worry about it. I ended up starting one before." Sectonia said.

"I see. Thanks to all of you, we gained the strength to overcome this trial, right?" Ace asked.

"Yes. And bringing others in...it was to strengthen your numbers and power. Bring people to do things you could not." Pandora said. "Especially considering one of your allied groups was planning to leave soon."

"Wait, really?" David asked.

"I'm afraid she's telling the truth." Illuma said. "Me and the Freedom Seekers and other color fighters were planning to leave once the tennis tournament was over."

"Really? Well before you, Skyler and the other Freedom Seekers leave, I made you these in my spare time." Ace said holding out two pendants.

"He made those for us, too. Just a little something to remember us by." Ty said.

"No matter where you all are. You're always with us in our hearts, Lady Illuma." Ace said.

"Ahem…" Hope said pointing to Skyler.

"And you as well, Lady Skyler." Ace said as he put Iluma's and Skyler's hands on top of each others.

"Thank you." They both said.

"But...why leave?" Hope asked.

"Two reasons...Cor and Master Rain Bow." Illuma said.

"Ah, right. You're one of Master Rain Bow's Four High Masters." David said. "Of course you couldn't stay out for long."

"Unfortunately not. But this was...enjoyable." Illuma said.

"Yes. Me and my brothers were very glad to meet you and Skyler, Lady Illuma. Please take care." Spade said as he kissed the back of Illuma's hand.

"Now before I return all of you, I have two things. The first...is this." Pandora said giving her medal to them. "The second….is a message for the future."

"A message? Of what kind?" David asked.

"Let me ask you something. Sunset, you are in tune with the Yo-kai. Have you seen the Yo-kai members on your ship recently?" Pandora asked.

"Now that I think of it...they've been absent even before this Redux happened." Sunset said.

"Same with us, Hope. I didn't think of it at the time but...she's right." Erica said.

"A great change is coming to the Yo-kai and the Yo-kai world in general. You may end up having to return there one day." Pandora said.

"A great change? What do you mean?" Sunset asked.

"I cannot reveal much. Just keep this in mind. Everything has two sides. History, politics, relationships...even the Yo-kai." Pandora said as they all vanished and soon returned to the Metro Kingdom.

"Ugh… Well, that was a trip and a half." Sachiko said. "Guess this means we're stuck with you guys."

"Very much so." Mayumi said.

"Where did David go, anyway?" Lloyd asked.

"As soon as we got back, he's back to signing autographs. Making up for time lost, he said." Jesse said.

"It makes sense he wants to get some practice in." Zexi said. "I mean...tennis is happening soon."

"Yep. Tennis is his old livelihood. He wouldn't miss out for the life of him." Ross said.

"Yeah...the Aces tournament...I can't wait for it. It's gonna be amazing." Rainbow said.

"Yet somehow I can't shake the feeling something is about to happen during this tournament." Ty said.

As the days were slowly beginning to go by once more, upon a familiar ship two letters were being written.

"There...our warnings are prepared." said Takeda as he got up and stood over AJ who lied on the floor with a wound. "Sorry. But in the end, we both knew it would end this way."

"Yeah… i kinda figured…" AJ said. "But nothing's gonna stop us from coming after you and Cheetah."

"If I wanted to escape clean, I wouldn't have left you alive." Takeda said.

"So true. We'll be seeing you at Marina Island." AJ said.

"Cute...but you won't." Takeda said as the back hatch opened as he kicked AJ out along with Hitomi, Dark Water and Natalie as Cheetah, Captain Cold and Poison Ivy stood behind him. "Though if you make it to shore alive, I'll humor you with a sword fight." he said as the door closed.

"But...why did you…" Coronamon said before Cheetah knocked him out.

"I have to offer you as a prize. Otherwise….Kenshin won't agree to a rematch." Takeda said moving off.

To be continued...


End file.
